Nearly six months after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore, families of three of the six deceased workers have sued Grace Ocean Private Limited, the owner of the cargo ship that struck the bridge.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the relatives of Miguel Ángel Luna González, José Mynor López and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, described the tragedy as "deadly negligence."
In the lawsuit, the group is asking for an amount of money that was not specified at the conference, as well as work permits to be able to "live with dignity in the United States."
"We seek justice, not for ourselves, but for all essential immigrant workers and families. We hope that no one ever has to live a tragedy like this and that justice means preventing future tragedies," said Carmen Luna, Miguel Luna's wife.
The lawyer in the case, Matthew Wessler, explained that his goal is to bring transparency, focusing on the families' requests. The lawyer added that this was not a simple accident because the ship was allegedly not in a condition to sail and that these lives were lost due to a lack of responsibility.
The tragedy occurred March 26 when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after the cargo ship Dalí hit it due to a suspected power outage on the ship. Six Hispanics were working on the bridge that fell into the cold waters of the Patapsco River.
The executive director of CASA, Gustavo Torres, also participated in Tuesday's press conference, questioning the lack of security measures at the scene of the accident, as well as the absence of a rescue boat.
"Grace Ocean is choosing impunity over justice. Only for money and for their own interests, they are trying to eliminate their responsibility that they have with these families, but you know what? We are not going to allow it," he said.
Through a statement sent to NBC News, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean Private Limited responded that by court order, any claim against the owner of the Dalí must be filed before Sept. 24.
The spokesperson added that, for the moment, the company will not offer any comment on these accusations.
Julio Cervantes Suárez was the only survivor of the tragedy. See his story here.
