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Staten Island Ferry Crash Personal Injury Lawsuit

A Staten Island woman and her young son have filed papers stating that they will bring a $10 million lawsuit against the city for injuries they say they incurred aboard the Staten Island ferry when it crashed into a concrete pier on Wednesday afternoon.

The woman, Dinah Washington, 28, and her son, Jalil, 7, stated that they sustained injuries to almost every part of their bodies, along with pain and suffering and ''loss of enjoyment of life.''

Their notice of claim against the city, filed with the office of the city's corporation counsel, was delivered yesterday, the same day the New York State Bar Association issued an advisory on legal and ethical issues pertaining to the crash, reminding lawyers ''to adhere to the code of professional responsibility.'' The code prohibits lawyers from soliciting work from the injured or from pressuring survivors to sue, among other things.

According to experts in maritime and personal injury law, there is likely to be a deluge of personal injury lawsuits against the city. Legal experts say that almost everyone who boarded the ferry may have a legal case for compensation against the city, which owns and operates the ferry service.

In addition to possible compensation for those who died or were seriously injured, a federal maritime doctrine allows all those who were in the face of danger and who suffered emotional distress to file for compensation, even if they were not physically injured, a legal expert said.

''It looks like a case that the city can't beat, except for the possibility of limiting their liability,'' said Paul Edelman, a specialist in maritime law at the firm of Kreindler & Kreindler. He also writes a column on admiralty issues for The New York Law Journal. ''On the face of it,'' he said, ''it looks like the liability is pretty good.''

David Leebron, the dean of Columbia Law School, said the responsible party should expect lawsuits from a full range of plaintiffs -- from families claiming wrongful death to passengers who claim to now have a fear of ferries that affects their ability to commute and earn a living.

Because the crash happened in federal waters, any litigation will most likely proceed in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, which covers Staten Island. Under a federal law that is more than a century old, the city has the option of filing for a ''limitation of liability,'' which would cap liability at the value of the post-accident ferry boat, an amount that would be significantly less than the possible total from personal injury and wrongful death claims.

''In order to take advantage of this,'' Mr. Leebron said, ''the city has to show that there was no supervisory liability, that people of management echelon of the ferry were not at fault. If it was clear that they were violating the rules of the road in going too fast across the harbor, for example, that would be enough to deny the right to limit their liability.''

Ms. Washington's lawyer, Anthony Bisignano, of the Staten Island firm Bosco, Bisignano & Mascolo, said the granting of limited liability is ''certainly not automatic.''

The city's corporation counsel, Michael Cardozo, declined a request on Thursday to discuss any legal issues regarding the crash.

A statement issued Thursday from Mr. Cardozo's office read: ''The city is focusing on aiding the injured, comforting the victims' families, and cooperating with the N.T.S.B. investigation of what caused the accident. At this time, it is not appropriate to be discussing legal issues that could emanate from this tragedy.''

Nonetheless, those who plan to sue face deadlines, mainly a 90-day statute of limitations for filing a notice of claim against the city. Plaintiffs then have more than a year to bring cases to court.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, as are city and state officials. It may take up to a year for a final report.

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