Gary Lobaton alleges in his lawsuit that passengers aboard the Costa Concordia on Jan. 13 were not given timely notice of the ship’s “deadly and dangerous condition” and were subsequently abandoned by the ship’s captain.
Due to the captain’s “cowardly and reckless action and Defendants’ negligent practice, 16 people are dead and 16 more remain missing and over 4,000 people have suffered damages and continue to suffer damages,” Lobaton alleges in the lawsuit, which was filed as a class action complaint Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The lawsuit says Lobaton lives in Lima, Peru, but does not specify what he did as a crew member aboard the Costa Concordia.
Defendants in the lawsuit include Carnival Corp., the parent company of the ship, and a subsidiary, Costa Corciere.
The lawsuit was filed in Chicago, it says, because the defendants do substantial business in Illinois.