JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three more families have settled in federal court with the company that owned the Jacksonville-based cargo ship El Faro.
The 790-foot SS El Faro sank in a hurricane Oct. 1 after losing propulsion near the Bahamas on its way from Jacksonville to San Juan, Puerto Rico. All 33 aboard died.
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The U.S. Coast Guard completed a second round of hearings in Jacksonville last month, investigating the ship's sinking and final voyage.
READ: 4 families settle with TOTE
The families of crew members Frank Hamm III, James Phillip Porter Jr. and Roosevelt Lazarra Clark have each settled wrongful death lawsuits with El Faro's parent company, TOTE Services.
That brings the total of families who have settled with Sea Star Lines and TOTE Services to 21.
All the settlements have been for $500,000 each for "pain and suffering" and an agreed upon, non-disclosed amount for economic losses for each family.
“Since the loss of the El Faro, we have focused effort on supporting the families of those on board," TOTE said in a statement. "An important part of this support has entailed reaching fair and swift legal settlements for those who may choose them. We can confirm that we have settled with 21 families through a respectful and equitable mediation process.”
An attorney representing families of four El Faro crew members who have not settled their lawsuits against TOTE said he thinks the company is bullying the families into settling quickly.
"It's sad to see TOTE use outdated maritime laws to push these families into settling for much less than what they deserve," attorney Jason Itkin of Arnold & Itkin LLP, a Houston-based law firm, said in a statement. " If our senators and other politicians would do something about updating the ancient Limited Liability Act of 1851, TOTE would not have the power to put these grieving families in the difficult position of settling when they deserve so much more. We'll be continuing the fight for the families we represent, and we want to send a message to TOTE and to other shipping companies that they cannot afford to be reckless with people's lives."
Itkin's firm represents the families of Anthony Shawn Thomas, Howard John Schoenly, Joe Edward Hargrove and German Cortes.
After weeks of searching for the sunken ship, a special Navy deep-sea exploration ship found the wreckage, but not the ship's data recorder. The National Transportation Safety Board found the voyage data recorder during another round of searching in April.
READ: Sea Star Line LLC, dba TOTE Maritime, Notice of settlement
The families included in the initial settlements announcement included the captain, five Polish crew members and eight others, including Jacksonville Beach resident Roan Lightfoot, Jacksonville resident Jackie Robert Jones Jr., Dylan O. Meklin, of Rockland, Maine, Danielle Laura Rudolph, of Rockland, Maine, and Michael Lee Holland, of North Walton, Maine. The families of LaShawn Rivera, Larry Davis, Jeffrey Mathias and Mariette Wright have also settled with TOTE.
Claims for the remaining crew members are still pending, as well as claims from owners of lost cargo.
TOTE had asked a federal judge to limit or release its liability, and company officials have claimed that the El Faro was maintained properly and in good condition.