Parents seek $2.5M for son’s death in fire on shrimp boat
The parents of a recently deceased man have filed suit against the owners of the boat that caught fire with their son aboard, causing his death.
Kha Dang and Ngo Thi Dang, individually and on behalf of the estate of Teo Cung Dung, filed suit July 18 in the Jefferson County District Court against TL&S Corp. and Hieu Trung Tran.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs’ son, Teo Cung Dung, was participating in a month-long shrimping trip on board the Lucky Diamond. He and his three fellow crew members were in the Gulf of Mexico on May 10, 2012, when the boat’s master observed heavy smoke and fire coming from a deck area near crew quarters, according to the complaint.
Buzbee
The master made attempts to extinguish the fire, but was not successful and ultimately abandoned the ship, the suit states. He boarded another boat and cut the mooring lines to the Lucky Diamond, the complaint says.
The vessel burned for several hours before sinking, the suit states. Three crew members on the vessel, including Teo Cong Dang, died.
Due to their son’s death, the Dangs lost his maintenance, care, support, services, companionship and society, the complaint says.
They blame defendant TL&S Corp., which owned the boat, and Hieu Trung Tran for contributing to their son’s death, saying they negligently failed to ensure necessary inspections occurred, failed to ensure equipment was in a safe operating condition, failed to ensure the vessel was safe for travel and failed to institute proper safety measures, among other negligent actions.
The Dangs seek a judgment of $2.5 million, plus pre- and post-judgment interest at the legal rate, costs and other relief the court deems just.
They are being represented by attorney Anthony G. Buzbee of The Buzbee Law Firm in Houston.
Jefferson County District Court case number A195-894
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Jefferson County District Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.
