Paul Galm Reaches Confidential Settlement in $8 Million Oregon Wrongful Death Drowning Lawsuit

One of the great perks of living in Oregon is the freshly caught seafood. However, we sometimes forget the incredible risk fishermen take to retrieve their catches along the cold–and sometimes vicious– waters of the Pacific.

One such case is that of Oregonian David A. Terris. A wrongful death lawsuit has been settled for his 2012 drowning. Terris, at 48 years-old, came from Michigan to Oregon with his wife seeking work in the fishing industry. He joined the 4-man crew of the commercial crabbing vessel, Sound Leader.

On July 2^nd they left Newport to retrieve Dungeness crab pots when, late that night, they encountered turbulent waters. Around 4am, the crew abandoned the vessel by transferring to a life raft. However, when the mechanism attaching the life raft to the ship failed to cut the line, the raft was dragged down along with the Sound Leader. The Coast Guard found the other three crew members two hours later. Terris, the crew said, drowned roughly 20 minutes before they arrived.

In the settlement, Paul Galm, a wrongful death attorney in the Beaverton and Portland, Oregon area, found both C.M. Hammer AB, the Swedish manufacturer of the release mechanism, as well as Phillips & Mossington LLC of Lincoln County, the Oregon owner of Sound Leader, accountable for Terris’ wrongful death.

Galm argued Terris’ death could have been prevented had the release mechanism worked properly, and had the crew been properly trained in the event that the release mechanism—as it indeed had—failed. According to the wrongful death attorney, the crew did not follow standard safety procedures due to lack of training, and were thus caught in the cold and violent waters without proper flotation devices or immersion suits. Furthermore, they did not find the toolkit of the life-raft in time to cut the rope manually.

While financial compensation for a wrongful death case does not ultimately make up for the loss of a loved one, we hope the Terris family can find some closure in the settlement.

Contact Paul Galm Law today if you have experienced the loss of a loved one due to someone else’s negligence. The consultation is always free.