BALTIMORE − Almost six months after a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, grieving relatives of the deceased workers are taking legal action against the ship’s owner following the bridge’s collapse into the Patapsco River.

The Dali cargo ship lost control and crashed into one of the bridge’s support pillars on March 26, leading to the tragic deaths of six workers who were repairing potholes. Two workers were rescued, while the other six, all immigrants from Latin America, perished in the cold waters.

Grace Ocean Private Limited, the ship’s owner, along with its manager Synergy Marine Group, filed a federal legal claim in April, attempting to limit their liability from the incident to the ship’s estimated value of $42.5 million. Experts have indicated to Reuters that if it’s proven the shipowners were negligent, they may not be able to cap their liability.

Family members believe that a federal judge should reject the ship owner’s efforts to limit liability.

Maria del Carmen Castellón, who lost her 49-year-old husband, Miguel Luna, during the early morning accident, will attend a press conference with the families of two other victims, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, and Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38. They aim to file a claim in Maryland’s federal court by the September 24 deadline, in conjunction with the impending six-month mark since the tragedy, as stated by their attorney, Matthew Wessler.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the ship experienced power failures twice before departing from the Port of Baltimore, which should have raised alarms, according to Wessler.

“These events highlight a clear instance of negligence on part of the ship, indicating that they should not be permitted to limit their financial responsibilities towards the injured parties,” he mentioned.

The ultimate decision on whether the owners can cap their liability rests with a federal judge, as noted by Wessler.

“Our hope is to have this case go to trial so a jury can determine appropriate compensation for the families affected by the loss of six lives,” said Sapunar of CASA.

Synergy Marine Group has not commented yet before the filing of the families’ lawsuit.

The bridge’s collapse generated significant grief within the Latino community in the city and sparked demands for better protections for undocumented migrant workers throughout the nation. Accompanying their lawsuit, family members will reiterate calls for essential policy reforms to safeguard construction workers, who are frequently immigrants, according to CASA’s press release.

Castellón shared her heartbreak over losing her husband. He worked for Brawner Builders, and they had plans to expand her food truck business into a permanent restaurant after scouting locations just a day before the collapse.

Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy’s liability claim in federal court aimed to shield them from compensations resulting from the bridge disaster. Baltimore’s mayor and city council have formally objected in court, stating that there were no significant weather disruptions or other causes that could have justified the bridge’s failure on that day. They accused the companies of criminal negligence for permitting the ship to leave the port despite evident power issues. The city also noted this incident adversely affected Baltimore’s economy.

City officials are against limiting liability for the ship owners.

Meanwhile, investigations into the collision continue by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI, which has launched a federal criminal investigation into the collapse.

Contributing: Reuters