Incident on Staten Island Ferry leaves 15 with minor injuries

A power failure on the Staten Island Ferry boat John Marchi caused a hard docking at the ferry terminal in Staten Island injuring 15 passengers, the Staten Island Advance reports.

For New York City personal injury lawyers, as well as many other city residents, the accident conjured images of the ferry accident that killed 11 people in 2003. This most recent accident caused only minor injuries, the worst of which was a dislocated elbow.

James DeSimone, the ferry chief, believes the boat's propulsion system failed as the ferry pulled into its slip, likening the situation to a car losing its brakes. Mr. DeSimone warned the boat's passengers to brace themselves before it bumped, hard, into the dock, causing superficial damage to both the ferry and the dock.

The 15 injured passengers were rushed to area hospitals while the remaining 750 to 800 passengers disembarked using an auxiliary gangplank.

Officials were still investigating the cause of the malfunction at the time of the article's publication.

Of possible interest to New York personal injury lawyers, the Advance report mentions that the John Marchi "has been plagued with mechanical and generator problems" but does not go into further detail. A similar "hard docking" of the boat in 2007 injured seven people.

New York personal injury lawyers need no reminder of how deadly a ferry accident can be. Staten Island politicians have already commended the crew for its quick and effective reaction to a harrowing situation. We would like to add our voice to that praise.

[Staten Island Advance via Gothamist]