One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
More Claims Filed In Conception Dive Boat Fire
A display at the news conference announcing the claims included photographs of victims Yulia Krashennaya (left) and married couple Kaustubh Nirmal and Sanjeeri Deopujari. (Elly Yu/LAist)
The families of four people who died in last year's Conception dive boat fire off the coast of Santa Barbara have filed wrongful death claims against the vessel's owners.
The fire killed 34 people on Labor Day. A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board had noted that no one was standing watch when the fire broke out in the middle of the night.
In federal court filings Monday, the families' lawyers allege boat owner Truth Aquatics violated a number of Coast Guard regulations, including:
- Not having a "roving" safety watchman
- Not having a safe way to store and charge lithium ion batteries
- Not having enough emergency exits
This isn't the first legal claim against Truth Aquatics. A crew member who survived, Ryan Sims, alleges in a lawsuit filed Sept. 12 that the Conception's owners were negligent in their failure to properly train crew members, give adequate safety and medical equipment and provide safety rules, among other claims. Christine Dignam, whose husband, Justin Dignam, died in the fire, sued in November, claiming the boat was unsafe.
GO DEEPER:
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
