Man who pulled duck boat victims from water sues
A man who helped pull victims of the Table Rock Lake duck boat disaster is suing the company that operated the boat and its captain, alleging the experience caused him physical and psychological injuries.
Gregory Harris, a former employee of the paddlewheel boat Branson Belle, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Taney County circuit court. Harris said Ride the Ducks International and Ripley Entertainment, the owners of the duck boat ride, knew duck boats were unsafe and put profit ahead of their customers’ safety.
In the 26-page lawsuit, Harris says the boats were modified by the company that merged with Ride the Ducks International to extend them 2 feet so extra passengers could ride. The suit claims the alterations were done by someone with no engineering, design or mechanical training and the idea came from talking to a football coach, an auto parts store employee and a U-Haul employee.
“Ripley and/or RDI knew and/or should have known that these vehicles were not safe for use and especially were not safe for use in inclement weather,” the suit says.
Harris also claims Ride the Ducks should have taken action to make the boats safer after previous duck boat accidents and direct warnings from the National Transportation Safety Board, but refused to do so.
He also alleges employees, including boat captain Scott McKee, ignored weather warnings and were negligent in putting the boat on the water 20 minutes after a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area.
“Rather than cancel the tour and refund the tickets, defendants … decided to try and race the storm, knowing the risk,” the suit says.
Harris says in the suit that he saved several people from drowning, but also had to pull dead bodies from the water. The experience left him depressed and anxious and led to him quitting his job, the suit says. He also injured his right arm and lower back and had a crown knocked from his mouth, the suit says.
Harris is represented by Springfield, Missouri, attorney Jeffrey Bauer. A spokesperson for Ripley Entertainment was not available Friday evening.
No hearings have been set.
