Sacked Horizon whistleblower awarded more than $1m in damages

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JK
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Sacked Horizon whistleblower awarded more than $1m in damages

Post by JK »

This is interesting. Captain must have been beside himself with safety issues.
A court in the US has awarded more than $1m to a former Horizon Lines master who was sacked in 2013 following a whistleblowing incident. Captain John Loftus was removed from his post three years ago, having worked for the American line for 20 years. He had reported safety violations on the ship he’d been working for, the Horizon Trader boxship, to the US Coast Guard and class society ABS.

“Loftus resorted to reporting safety concerns to the regulatory agencies because of Horizon’s consistent failure to correct hazardous conditions aboard the Trader. Loftus was clearly a thorn in Horizon’s side,” a judge noted in a detailed 48-page ruling.

Loftus has been awarded $655,000 in back wages, $225,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 for emotional distress, and more than $200,000 in legal costs.

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Re: Sacked Horizon whistleblower awarded more than $1m in damages

Post by Big Pete »

Very interesting post JK.
I would love to know what the safety violations were, but I guess he had to sign a confidentiality agreement to get the money!!
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JK
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Re: Sacked Horizon whistleblower awarded more than $1m in damages

Post by JK »

Would he? It's a court settlement after all.
I looked the ship up, it was 42 years in service when it hit the Alang beach in 2014 and not without controversy over PCBsnin the old hull.
At that age it could be anything from steel to machinery issues.
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