Hector V. Pazos, P.E.
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MARINE ACCIDENTS -
INVESTIGATION SERVICES
EXPERT WITNESS |
During the past 40
years, Ocean-Oil has been retained to
assist lawyers, insurance companies, and
owners regarding technical matters in a
substantial number of litigations (over
1,200). We have made surveys and
inspections, prepared reports, and/or
testified by deposition and in court in
more than 400 cases involving:
- power and sail pleasure boats
- passenger and cargo vessels
- offshore platforms
- drilling rigs
- fishing vessels
- pipelines
- barges
- floating cranes
- collisions
- salvage
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- towing
- damages to docks
- slip and fall
- inclined and vertical ladders
- fires and explosions
- diving accidents
- noise and/or vibration
- containers
- dredges
- personal injury
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These litigations
can be classified generally as:
- Accident Reconstruction
- Product Liability
- Equipment Failure
- Structural Failure
- Latent Defects
- Vessel Safety and
Seaworthiness
- Aquatics/Recreation
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- Design/Construction Defects
- Cause of Vessel Sinking
- Vessel Stability
- Salvage of Vessels
- Engine and Steering Damage
- Personal Injury/Safety
- Biomechanics
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Mr
Pazos'
Academic Background: M.S.
Naval Architect, Marine Engineering, and
Mechanical Engineering, University of Buenos
Aires, Argentina 1959. Further studies at
Tulane, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and
Princeton Universities. Courses, Seminars,
and Conferences:
- Structural Steel Design
- Computers
- Vibrations
- Diesel Engines
- Shipbuilding Practices
- Offshore Petroleum Technology
- Underwater Welding
- USCG Auxiliary/Power Squadron/
Safety at Sea
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- Finance and Accounting
- Containers
- Navigation
- Hydraulics
- Propellers
- Propulsion Machinery
- Accident Reconstruction
- OSHA Standards
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PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE OF HECTOR V. PAZOS:
- 1970-present: Pres., Ocean-Oil
Int'l Corp. / V.P., Ocean-Oil
Expert Witness, Inc.
- 1969-1970: Vice President and Chief
Engineer, Petro Marine Engineering,
Inc.
- 1969: Department Supervisor, Naval
Architecture and Structures, Avondale
Shipyards, Inc.
- 1966-1969: Staff Naval Architect,
Hydrodynamics, FMC Corporation
California
- 1960-1966: Ass't Supervisor of the
Scientific Section, Avondale
Shipyards, Inc.
- 1960: Designer, National Steel and
Shipbuilding Company, San Diego,
CA
- 1959-1960: Assistant to the Chief
Engineer, Buenos Aires Naval
Shipyard, Argentina
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ADDITIONAL
QUALIFICATIONS
OF
HECTOR
V.
PAZOS
IN
THE
MARITIME
FIELD:
- Marine Salvage and Wreck Removal:
Salvage engineer and consultant in many
marine mishaps, collisions, groundings,
capsizings, fires and explosions, and
wreck removals, including the complete
engineering for the clearance of the
Suez Canal, and the largest lift for
salvage in the American Continent: a
5,100 ton drilling rig.
- Archaeological and Valuable Cargo
Salvage: Research and field
operations.
- Extensive International Experience:
Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico,
Honduras, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad,
Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt,
England, Puerto Rico, Dominican
Republic, Antigua, St. Martin, Colombia,
Peru, Uruguay, Canada, Anguilla, Spain,
and most countries and islands of the
Caribbean and Central America.
- Sailor, Boatman, Owner-Operator:
38-foot sailboat, 24-foot power boats,
four commercial fishing boats from 49
feet to 85 feet.
- Affiliations: Society of Naval
Architects and Marine Engineers;
American Boat and Yacht Council.
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PARTIAL
LIST
OF CASES INVOLVING COURT TESTIMONY OR
DEPOSITIONS BY HECTOR V. PAZOS BETWEEN
1992 AND PRESENT: |
- Michael S. O'Brien (attorney) - Joseph
Renee Broussard vs. Hargett Mooring
& Marine, Inc. - Testified January
1992
- Rick Christovich (attorney) - The
Estate of Charles Michael DeMoss vs.
Union Oil Co. of California, et al -
Testified February 1992
- Allen A. McElroy, Jr. (attorney) -
Rita Swilley Seal vs. EDO Corp. -
Testified March 1993
- Ronald L. Buchsbom (attorney) - Kilmon
vs. Prout (explosion on sailboat) -
Testified July 1993
- Donald de Boisblanc (attorney) -
Accident of Reggie Acy McDermott -
Deposed 12/94
- James T. Catlow (attorney) - Califano
vs. Sea-Land Services - Deposed 4/24/95
- Testified 2/13/96
- Ashton R. O'Dwyer, Jr. (attorney)
-M/V Kavo Kaliakra - collision with
ARTCO Fleet - deposed 7/17/95 -
Testified 11/30/95
- James P. Lambert (attorney) - Dean A.
Strand vs. Global Divers &
Contractors - Deposed 8/2/95
- Richard Mere (attorney) - James Craig
vs. Hornbeck Offshore Corporation -
Deposed 10/17/95, Testified 11/27-28/95
- Melvin Eiden (attorney) - Yvette
Cullen vs. McGee's Landing - Deposed
12/95
- John W. McLuskey (attorney) - S. Paul
White vs. Mercury Marine - Deposed
2/16/96
- Frank Spagnoletti (attorney) - Gregory
L. Barnes vs. Dual Drilling - Deposed
2/21/96
- Ashton R. O'Dwyer, Jr. (attorney) -
M/V ESENTEPE II - Attended court
settlement on 3/29/96
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) - John
Dale Marks vs. T. L. James & Co.,
Inc. - Deposed 5/31/96
- Jeffrey A. Mitchell (attorney) - Edwin
Burley vs. Cal Dive Int'l - Deposed
7/19/96 - Attended trial 10/21/96
- Frank Spagnoletti (attorney) - Randy
Cole vs. Tidewater - Deposed 8/6/96
- Ms. Surama Suarez (attorney) - Roxy
Roberson vs. Norwegian Cruise Lines -
Deposed 1/22/97
- Frank Spagnoletti (attorney) - M/V
Salvador Allende - Deposed 2/3/97
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) - Troy
Salone vs. Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel
Co. - Deposed 8/1/97
- Estelle Mahoney (attorney) - Errol
Kiger vs. Doucet & Adams, Inc. -
Deposed 10/97
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) - Orese
J. Fontenot, Sr., vs. Cliffs Drilling
Co., et al - Deposed 7/21/98
- Harold Zahner (attorney) - Drillship
"SEACREST" - Attended arbitration on
6/7/99 in Singapore
- Kenneth DeJean (attorney) -Murphy
Crochet, Jr., et al vs. Double Eagle
Marine Inc., et al - Deposed 10/19/99
- Kenneth DeJean (attorney) - Clayton
White vs. Delta Seaboard Well Service -
Deposed 11/8/99
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) -
Lincoln Lee Gibson vs. The Gray
Insurance Co. - Deposed 12/21/99
- Rex A. Jemison (attorney) / Samuel
Harding (attorney) - Robin Lewis vs. Sea
Ray - Deposed 3/9-10-11/00
- Donald F. de Boisblanc (attorney) -
Isaac Lewis vs. State of Louisiana,
Dept. of Transportation - Testified in
court on 5/3/00
- Stanley B. Gruber (attorney) - Derek
Singleton-Stone vs. Liebherr Container
Cranes - Deposed 8/29/00 and 9/27/00
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) -
Russell J. Etienne vs. ENSCO Marine Co.,
et al - Deposed 11/21/00
- Charles Alagood, G. Ray Bratton,
Winslow Drummon, R. Layne Holley,
Kenneth Mascagni, Norwood Phillips
(attorneys) - Various parties vs. The
U.S.A., et al - Testified May 25, 2001
- L. Edward McClellan, Jr. (attorney) -
Jane Richardson vs. Bombardier -
Testified June 21, 2001
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) - Jimmy
Legrand vs. T. L. James & Co. -
Testified August 29, 2001
- Juliette Ferguson (attorney) - Karen
Austin vs. Spirit Cruisers, Inc. -
Testified August 31, 2001
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) - Vernon
Moody vs. CNG Producing Co. - Testified
September 27, 2001
- Charles R. Talley (attorney) - Jeffrey
J. Lott vs. Greystar Corp., Inc. -
Testified November 7, 2001
- Lawrence N. Curtis (attorney) - Brian
Smith vs. Global Marine Drilling Co. -
Testified February 26, 2002
- Donald F. de Boisblanc (attorney) -
Owen Scott Anderson vs. Magnolia Marine
Transport Co., et al - Testified January
28, 2003
- Samuel David Abraham (attorney) -
Larry J. Viator, Sr. vs. Dauterive
Contractors - Testified June 3, 2003
- Edgar F. Barnett, Reich Chandler, Rex
Townsley (attorneys) - M/V Thoroughbred
- Testified July 24, 2003
- Matthew Valcourt (attorney) - Nigeria
National Petroleum Corp. vs. S/V Seabulk
Merlin - Testified by deposition January
12 & 13, 2005 and in court March 2,
2005.
- George J. Nalley, Jr. (attorney) –
Randy Thompson vs. Rowan Companies –
Testified April 3, 2007.
- Joseph P. D’Ambrosio (attorney) – Joel
Schatzberg vs. Celebrity Cruises, Inc. –
Testified October 17, 2007.
- Marian Lee/Rod Sullivan (attorney) -
Timothy Corbin v. Subaqueous Services -
Testified: September 24, 2008
- Hank des Bordes (attorney) - William
S. Nadler v. Dufour, Laskay &
Strouse - Deposed: June 19, 2009
- Brian Gilbert, Lawrence Wiedemann,
Patrick Sanders, Shawn Khorami, Dylan
Pollard (attorneys) - Barge Case -
Katrina Levee Breaches - Deposed: July
20 & 21, 2009
- Amancio Arias-Guardiola (attorney) -
Raymond Rivera vs. Jose Brassa -
Deposed: August 10, 2009
- James C. Ligman (attorney) - Jeffrey
Scott Davis and Cinde Davis v.
Progressive Insurance - Deposed:
November 13, 2009
- Alton C. Todd (attorney) - Cause No.
59937; Ronald S. Irby & Susan
McKirahan-Irby vs. T. W. Laquay
Dredging, Inc. - Deposed: April 27, 2010
- Testified: August 3, 2010
- Warren Bittner, Deputy City Attorney -
Contender Fishing Team vs. City of Miami
- Deposed: Septebmer 20, 2011
- Brian Gilbert, Lawrence Wiedemann,
Patrick Sanders, Shawn Khorami, Dylan
Pollard (attorneys) - Barge Case –
Katrina Levee Breach - Testified: June
25, 2010
- Maxwell S. Kennerly - In the Matter of
Ride The Ducks Int'l - Deposed: April
26, 2012
- Victor F. Poulos (attorney) - Ronald
L. Bissell and Mistral 64, LLC v.
Sunseeker Int'l Ltd.; Sunseeker USA,
Inc.; California Coast Yachts, Inc.; and
Steven Lehman - Deposed: May 7, 2012
- Mark Ross (attorney) - Tammie White
vs. Florida Marine Transportation -
Deposed: June 14, 2012
- Chris D. Collings (attorney) - Cause
No. 08-CV-0011; Galveston Party Boats,
Inc. and Boat Service of Galveston Inc.,
vs. Stewart & Stevenson, L.L.C. and
MTU Detroit Diesel, Inc. - Deposed:
August 7, 2012
- Joseph Guilbeau (attorney) - Damian C.
Tallmore v. D & L Salvage &
Marine Services - Deposed: September 7,
2012
- Emanuel Galimidi (attorney) -
Travelers Insurance Company, as Subrogee
of G. Robert Toney & Associates
d/b/a National Liquidators and Maritech
Services, Inc. vs. Commercial Cool-Temp
Corp. - Testified: September 19, 2012
- Chris D. Collings (attorney) - Cause
No. 08-CV-0011; Galveston Party Boats,
Inc. and Boat Service of Galveston Inc.,
vs. Stewart & Stevenson, L.L.C. and
MTU Detroit Diesel, Inc. - Testified:
May 7, 2013
- Carolyn Frank (attorney) - IN RE M/V
SEABOARD SPIRIT SEABOARD SPIRIT LTD as
Owner and SEABOARD MARINE LTD as Owner
PRO HAC VICE of the M/V SEABAORD SPIRIT
- Deposed: June 19, 2013
- Joseph F. Gaar, Jr. (attorney) -
Timothy Clark vs. Masco Operators, Inc.
- Testified: December 16, 2013
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PARTIAL
LIST
OF PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED BY HECTOR V.
PAZOS AND PUBLISHED:
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Publication:
“Was
This A Permit Required Confined
Space? Confined Space: Accident on a Marine
Vessel” Publisher: Occupational Heath
& Safety (Magazine)
Information: Published in the
February 2003 issue.
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Publication:
“Was
This A Permit Required Confined
Space? Confined Space: Accident on a Marine
Vessel” Publisher: Marine News
(Magazine) Information: Published
in the December 2003 issue
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Publication:
“Slip
and Fall Accidents in the Marine
Environment”. Publisher: Marine News
(Magazine) Information: Published
in the February 2003 issue
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Publication:
“Slip
and Fall Accidents in the Marine
Environment”. Publisher: Maritime Reporter
(Internet) Information: Published
on the Internet – February 21,
2003
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Publication:
“Increasing
Importance of Preventive
Maintenance in View of IMO’S ISM
Code and ISO 9000”
Publisher: Marine News
(Magazine) Information: Published in
the December 2002 issue
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Publication:
"Uncommon
Marine Accidents: 1). Unsecured
Hatch Cover Resulted in Death 2).
Passenger Boarding Ramp Crushed
Passenger's Foot 3). Self-Actuated
Transmission Killed Two People"
Publisher: Marine News (Magazine)
Information: Published in the
December 2002 issue
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Publication:
"Increasing
Importance of Compliance/Preventive
Maintenance in View of IMO’s ISM
Code and ISO 9000”.
Publisher: Reliabilityweb.com
– in the issue entitled: “Solution
Oriented Asset Reliability 09.01.04 -
(http://rw.c.topica.com/maacpbeaa9DeNbdWsQNbafpkgk/
Information:
Published
on
the
Internet
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September
1,
2004
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Publication:
"Implementation
of a Computerized Compliance
Management System" Publisher:
Marine News
(Magazine) Information: Published in
the September 2004 issue
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Publication:
"How
Lack of Attention to Small
Deficiencies Can Lead To A Major
Disaster" Publisher: X-Pro
News Information:
Published in January 2007
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Publication:
“Slip
and Fall Hazards in the Marine
Environment”
Publisher: Occupational Health
and Safety International
(Internet) - Published
January 24, 2007.
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Publication:
- "Deficiencies Found
In Many Marine Stairways and Ladders
Resulting In Accidents";
- "Typical Case In
Which Lack of Attention To Small
Deficiences Resulted in A Major
Disaster"; and
- "Boating Accident:
Gasoline Explosion - 32 Foot
Aluminum Cruiser". Publisher: The TASA Group, Inc.
(Internet) - 2008
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Publication:
“Unsecured
Hatch Cover Resulted in Death” Publisher: Experts.com
(Internet) - Published
March 2009.
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Publication:
“Self-Actuated
Transmission Killed Two People -
The Need For Propeller Guards” Publisher: Experts.com
(Internet) - Published
March 2009.
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FORENSIC
ENGINEERING
COURSE
AUTHORED
BY
HECTOR
V.
PAZOS,
BEING
OFFERED BY PDHENGINEER AS PART OF THE
CONTINUED EDUCATION FOR ENGINEERS
PROGRAM TITLED: "ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION
IN THE MARINE, BOATING AND OFFSHORE OIL
FIELDS":
CASE
HISTORIES: COURSE 1:
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Marine
Disaster:
Thirteen (13) People Died When A
Passenger Tour Boat Sunk Due To
Small Deficiencies.
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Unusual
Marine Accident: Push Boat Capsized
and Sunk - Crew Dragged Under a
Barge (one crewmember died).
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Slips
and Falls in the Marine and Offshore
Oil Fields.
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Maritime
Disaster:
Shift of Cargo Resulted in the Loss
of Almost the Entire Crew.
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Deficiencies
Found
in Many Marine Stairways and Ladders
Resulting in Accidents.
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Cruise
Ship Passenger’s Foot was Crushed by
a Boarding Gangway.
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Self-Actuated
Transmission
Killed Two People – The Need for
Propeller Guards.
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Unsecured
Hatch
Cover Resulted in Death.
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Confined
Space Accident.
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Gasoline
Explosion
on a 32-Foot Aluminum Cruiser.
CASE
HISTORIES: COURSE 2:
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Recreational Boat
Accidents.
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Lifting Related
Accidents.
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Offshore Personnel
Transfer.
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High Performance
Power Boat Design and Construction
Deficiencies.
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Offshore Drilling Rig
Accidents.
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Crew Boat Accidents:
Unseaworthiness.
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Collision Of A Boat
With A Channel Marker –
Determination Of Who Was The Driver
Thru Analysis Of The Injuries.
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Easy To Prevent
Accidents On Passenger Vessels.
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Predictable Offshore
Accidents.
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Personal Injuries
Resulting From Attempting To Board A
Crew Boat Thru The Bow and Notes
About the International Safety
Management Code (ISM).
CASE
HISTORIES: COURSE 3:
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Dangerous
Laundry
Room on a Passenger Vessel.
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The
Wake Created By a Vessel
Can Result In Accidents.
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Low-Pressure
Separator
Explosion on an Oil Production
Barge.
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Fall Arrest
Gear
Prevent
Serious
Injury to Electrician Falling
From Scaffold Board.
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A Floating
Dredging Pipeline Can Become an
Obstruction to the
Navigation Resulting in
Accidents.
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Explosion
in the Mudroom of a Jack-Up
Drilling Rig.
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Pilothouse
Accidents: An
Inadequate Helmsman's Chair
Failure,
Resulted in Serious
Injuries to the Captain -
Improper Pilothouse Design Results
in Accident.
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An
Inexpensive Hook on a Hatch of
a Brand New Vessel Caused Very
Serious Injuries to a Longshoreman.
CASE
HISTORIES: COURSE 4:
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Collision
of Two Pleasure Vessels in Puerto
Rico.
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Man
Overboard.
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Dangerous
Threshold on a Passenger Vessel.
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Dangerous
Inclined Stairs.
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Customs Agent
Was Injured Descending a Defective
Accommodation Ladder.
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Floating
Crane-Barge Accident Due to Lack of
Arresting System.
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Jumping
Waves and BUI (Boating Under the
Influence) Do Not Mix.
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Longshoreman
Injured Climbing Thru an Access
Hatch.
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