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The six deceased, originally from Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador, were construction workers who were fixing potholes on the bridge.
Relatives of three of the six migrants who died after a bridge collapsed in Baltimore , United States, last March announced on Tuesday that they will file a lawsuit against the company responsible for the ship that caused the accident.
The legal action, which will be filed in the coming days, will ask a judge in Baltimore to recognize the liability of Grace Ocean Private Limited , the company that owns the Dali, the vessel that collided with the Francis Scott Bridge, causing it to collapse.
The six deceased, originally from Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador , construction workers, were fixing potholes on the bridge when the structure collapsed.
“We are united by our losses and pain; we seek justice not only for ourselves, but for all essential workers, migrants and families,” said María del Carmen Castellón, widow of Miguel Luna, one of the fatal victims of the accident , at a press conference .
The two emigrated from El Salvador to the U.S. in the early 2000s and dreamed of opening their own restaurant, the woman said, holding back tears.
“For there to be true justice, my husband should still be alive, living a life full of laughter,” she stressed, “justice is that no child should have to live without a father, no mother should have to navigate life alone and no grandchild should have to know their grandfather from a faded photograph.”
Shortly after the accident, Grace Ocean filed a lawsuit asking a judge in Maryland to limit the company’s liability to the value of the ship, which it estimates at about $42.5 million.
“The most important thing about this lawsuit is to find out what went wrong and hold those responsible… We want to bring transparency,” said Matt Wessler, one of the legal representatives in charge of the case.
The relatives of the other three deceased, Maynor Yassir Suazo, Carlos Hernández and Wenceslao Contreras, will also file another lawsuit in the same case, under different legal representation.
In her testimony, Castellón linked her tragedy to the situation of the more than 11 million migrants who live and work in the U.S. without legal status: “We need work permits,” said the Salvadoran.
“We should not live in fear of our safety while providing for our families,” she added.
Following the crash, which garnered national media attention, the Biden administration offered its condolences to the families and granted humanitarian visas to relatives abroad so they could attend the funerals.
The migrant rights organization CASA, of which several of the victims were members and which has championed their cause, has met with representatives of the White House to press for measures that would give legal status to many more migrants.
