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Almost six months ago, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Baltimore harbor collapsed after a container ship, the Dali, collided with the bridge’s support beams. The cargo ship lost power and in turn lost control leading to the fatal accident on March 26. The accident occurred in the middle of the night so only a few were present on the bridge at the time. Those who were present were workers doing roadway repairs to eliminate potholes on the bridge. There were eight workers on the bridge that night. Two of the men were able to be rescued and survived the accident. The other six tragically passed away. Now, the family members of three of the men who passed away due to Dali’s crash are taking to the federal court to advocate for those they lost.

The case is not actually a direct lawsuit to Dali’s parent company.

There are two companies responsible for Dali. Firstly, there is the company that owns the ship, Singaporean company Grace Ocean Private Limited. Secondly, there is the company that manages the ship, Synergy Marine Group. Back in April, not long after the accident, the two companies jointly filed a petition to the U.S. court to place a restriction on the liability they faced over the accident. Their petition limited the liability to just the present value of the ship, which was $42.5 million. They claimed they held no further liability as the accident was not due to the fault of either company, the vessel, nor anyone else. Essentially, they were saying the accident was at the fault of no one and nothing. However, experts analyzed the events and concluded that the ship owners were at fault, meaning Grace Ocean Private Limited.

The suit brought forth by family members is to deny this petition.

The three families are all represented by attorney Matthew Wessler. According to Wessler, they are hopeful that, especially with the six month anniversary around the corner, the federal court judges will see the owners are at fault and reject their limit petition. A few of the relatives have spoken with media outlets after their filing was announced. One woman who’s husband passed away due to the collapse expressed her feelings by saying “that day a wound was opened in my heart that will never heal – something I do not wish to anyone.” Many empathize with the family members and hope that the companies behind the Dali are held responsible.