Ferry crash claims to run into billions

THE city of New York is facing claims running into several billion dollars from relatives of those killed and injured in the Staten Island ferry crash.

The first notice of claim has been filed on behalf of a passenger and her 7-year-old son who were on the ferry, seeking $10 million.

Staten Island attorney Anthony Bisignano filed the claim on behalf of Dinah Washington, 28, and her son Jalil, who claim they suffered injuries from head to toe in the crash.

Attorney Wayne Cohen, representing the wife of Louis Robinson, a passenger who died in the crash, said Saturday his notice of claim on a $500m suit was in the works.

"This is the initial step," said Cohen, adding his papers will be filed today.

The promises of lawsuits came within four days of the crash, and before the National Transportation Safety Board had finished the investigation into its cause.

NTSB investigators completed the bulk of their work aboard the ferry, which sat near the Staten Island shoreline as they sifted through its twisted metal, splintered wood and broken glass, and are now increasingly focusing on the crew, particularly its pilot.

The NTSB issued a subpoena n Friday seeking blood and urine samples from pilot Richard Smith to determine if he was taking prescription medicine on the day of the crash. The ferry's captain, Michael Gansas, told investigators that he saw Smith unconscious and slumped over the controls before the crash.

Smith, who authorities say tried to commit suicide after the crash, remained hospitalised in critical condition. Investigators are attempting to determine if high blood pressure medication caused him to collapse.

Gansas is to be interviewed by the NTSB tomorrow. He will likely face questions about whether he was in the pilot house with Smith at the time of the crash. City procedures require both men to be there when the ferry is moving, but investigators say they have received conflicting reports about Gansas' location.

NTSB officials have discounted weather and mechanical problems as possible causes of the crash.

Legal experts predicted the city would face a deluge of lawsuits. A federal maritime doctrine allows compensation for anyone suffering physical or emotional distress which might allow any of the 1,500 passengers aboard to bring a case.

Any passenger considering a lawsuit has 90 days to file a notice of claim. Once that is done, plaintiffs have one year to file the actual lawsuit.

At the Staten Island ferry terminal Saturday morning, three tug boats nudged the crippled ferry away from the docks and toward the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Police and Coast Guard boats served as escorts, and local and federal officials monitored its progress from onboard and from the shore.