ITF Unions in Maersk
Widow sues Maersk Line
28 January 2008
The widow of a seafarer who died aboard one of its ships is suing Maersk Lines for wrongful death.
According to maritime journal Tradewinds, Edward Dunn was working on the Maersk Constellation in February 2005 when he and four other crewmembers fell ill off the coast of West Africa.
The other seafarers recovered but Dunn, who suffered from an existing kidney complaint, died on the ship.
The lawsuit alleges that Dunn’s death was caused by drinking the water or eating the food on the ship. Maersk Line is also charged with failing to provide shoreside medical attention in a timely manner.
Maersk Line does not want to comment on a pending court case, according to Tradewinds.
Previous cases
This is not the first time Maersk has been challenged by a seafarer's widow.
In 2003 Maersk Line was forced to pay compensation to Polish widow Aurelia Wolowicz. Her husband died of pneumonia on a company ship.
A Danish court ruled that Maersk should pay her US$65,000 because he had not received medical care in time.
In 2004 Maersk Line was made to pay compensation to Filipina widow Veronica Frias. Her husband died on a Maersk ship because of mistakes made in a safety exercise. In both cases the women were helped by the Danish general workers union, 3F.
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