Wrongful death lawsuit filed in Missouri duck boat incident

The operators of a duck boat that sank in a lake near Branson, Mo., earlier this month face a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit, filed this week on behalf of the family of two victims. Seventeen people drowned when the amphibious vehicle operated by Ride the Ducks Branson sank in a sudden storm on July 19.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi, the attorney representing the families, said the company knew of the danger to its passengers. “For 20 years we have known that duck boats are death traps,” he said. Mongeluzzi added that the National Transportation Safety board warned that canopies on duck boats can ensnare passengers and advised operators to remove them. “But the National Transportation Safety Board doesn’t have the force of law,” he said. “They can only make recommendations. And the duck boat industry did nothing.”

The NTSB issued that recommendation after a duck boat sank in Arkansas in 1999, killing 13 people. The lawsuit says 42 deaths have been associated with duck boats since then.