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Widow of lost seaman seeks $2 million in suitBY A STAFF WRITEROCEAN SPRINGS — The widow of an OceanSprings seaman who was lost at sea last March aboard the LHA-1 has lodged a $2 million negligence suit against Litton Systems and the U.S. Gov-ernment, federal court records showed Wednesday.Mrs. Patricia Tapper, widow of David J. Tapper, charged the shipbuilding company and the government with negligence which led to her husband's death.The suit said Tapper was a member of the engineroom crew during a sea trial aboard the LHA-1under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding on March 4.The man suffered a mental breakdown after an electrical blackout in the engine room, the suit theorized.Tapper’s body was never recovered.The suit contends authorities aboard the LHA-1failed to conduct an adequate search for Tapper on the ship and in the water after he was reported missing.The suit also claims the defendants failed to properly screen personnel for fitness for shipboard duty prior to assigning them, especially in the case of Tapper who had recently been hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder.“Faults and defects in the ship’s electric system were blamed as the cause of the power blackout.The petition contends that authorities aboard the ship failed to establish proper emergency procedures to implement in the event of a missing person.
Newspaper Details
South Mississippi Sun
Biloxi, Mississippi, US
Thu, Aug 26, 1976
Page 30
Full Page
Clipped by
Ellen L.
MS, USA 08 Mar 2019
Other Publications Near Biloxi, Mississippi
The Keesler Field News
Biloxi Sun Herald
Biloxi Herald
South Mississippi Sun
Biloxi Daily Herald
