SAFETY SECOND | The Case of El Faro

Maritime Law is littered with centuries-old statutes that allow companies to skirt their responsibilities. In this video, Attorney Tom covers the catastrophic events of El Faro and the subsequent lawsuit. Though tragic the incident did cause the implementation of new safety procedures and rules.

In this series, I've partnered with Sam from BrickImmortar to review these past cases and explain why Your Justice Matters.

00:00 Intro and Phone Call from El Faro to QI
02:15 Backstory of El Faro Incident
13:57 Legal Aftermath
19:18 A Trial Within A Trial
22:43 NTSB Reports
25:20 Discovery
31:35 Safety Changes

I do not own the music or unoriginal underlying graphics in this video.
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DISCLAIMER:

Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Nor is there intent to form a lawyer-client relationship when interacting with others on the internet and in social media outlets. Past performance talked about in any context is no guarantee of future results.

#documentary #elfaro #disaster #shipwreck

[BrickImmortar]

The EL Faro Saga is complete... loving working on this series together!

[ShawnC.W-King]

The fact a company SUED VICTIMS for their dereliction of responsibility to do their own job and absolute ignorance to safety and any kind of regular maintenance is UNFORGIVABLY DISGUSTING.

[Mountain-Man-]

That law literally incentivizes shipping company owners to use shitty old rust bucket ships because they're worth less! Insane law.

[fell]

I would say "when we needed him most..." but if you need Attorney Tom, it means something really bad happened to you

[LowJSamuel]

Imagine your last minutes being spent bouncing between customer service reps on the phone trying desperately to get transferred to someone who can actually assist. The only way that could have been made worse is if he was speaking to an automated voice and pounding the "zero" button to get to a real person wouldn't work. Tragic.

[TheCommentSectionComedian]

You can feel the pain and anger in his voice. He's trying to say things in a calm and collected manner, but those emotions are seeping out like air from a balloon with a tiny hole in it. Thank you for everything you do, Tom.

[KnightsWithoutATable]

That ship wasn't seaworthy, the company knew it, and they didn't care. The captain sucking didn't help, but the ship being substandard gave them no wiggle room once they got into trouble. I am honestly surprised that the company allowed the captain as much freedom in setting the ship's course. With a storm of that size It really should have been company policy to give it a wide birth with the older ships since their condition was so poor.

[j.d.]

The absolute BEST crossover. Satisfies my NTSB/USCSB disaster/accident report obsession and my love for actual justice in the legal system. Props, y'all!

[benjaminlewis]

As someone who was aboard El Yunque I can say it is one of the most rusty nasty vessels I have ever stepped foot on. I've been on hundreds of vessels and this one would have been the worst for water communication from a list. During a fishing trip my PLB saved me and my brother and the captain who ran out of fuel 58 miles offshore with a 2ft vhf antenna. USCG sent a chopper and cutter to get us help. They are awesome, the PLB and the USCG. El Junké is what we called the sister ship. My dad had a story about them needing an emergency repair before they could leave Blount Island in Jacksonville. For the record my dad fixed the sea chest and that ship has not sunk.

[oganvildevil]

Captain; "this is an amazing, sturdy ship! We'll be

Captain's bosses; "we value this ship's loss at $0"

[moosecat]

It's amazing how, nearly 40 years after the loss of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the loss of the SS El Faro has so many parallels.
As somebody who had been going for my own Third Mates (unlimited) license, and had worked on various light merchant vessels, I'm absolutely shocked as to how the USCG could have done a thorough inspection of the El Faro, and said, "Yep...she's good to sail."

[Mountain-Man-]

I think every ship owner or shareholder should be required to take a full length working voyage on their ship annually. Maybe they'd have more incentive to keep them from sinking...

[bencheevers]

I watched this on a maritime disaster channel, I was heartbroken to hear how scared the woman shiphand was while talking over the radio, she was saying she was unsure and scared days before and could do nothing about it to her family, that's terrifying.
Edit: I'm so dumb, it was Brickimmortar that I saw this one originally

[DirkTheEditor]

More in depth Maritime content coming soon. Thanks to Sam at Brick Immortar, enjoying working with you on this new series.

[Aerotides]

I am beyond stoked for the merger of these two great creators. May the algorithm bless this piece of modern art.

[carlmanvers]

Death by chain of command failure is a tough one for families. My heart goes out to them.

[patrlim]

suing the captain somewhat makes sense, suing the rest of the crew does not.

[professinalnerfer]

I am really, really looking forward to more content like this. Even if it takes longer to make, this is the type of content that can genuinely change lives, as well as the outcomes of future tragedies by giving the general public more knowledge of the system and its deficiencies.

[rodh]

If a company values their vessel at $0, it means it's so bad they can't even sell it for scrap. Sounds like an admission the vessel is completely unseaworthy to me.

[smilemore]

*Your. Justice. Matters.*

God we need more people like Tom...