Ben Franklin Yacht sued by cruise patron over violent attack

A suburban Philadelphia man has filed suit over injuries he claims to have

sustained during an attack in the parking lot of a party cruise boat.

Michael Bocchino, a resident of Ardmore, Pa., says he was assaulted by an unknown number of fellow patrons who were taking a day trip on the famed Ben Franklin Yacht.

The alleged attack occurred on May 3 of this year.

The plaintiff claims he sustained multiple fractures of the cheek, jaw and orbital bone, and injuries of an unspecified nature to his head, neck, back, shoulders, arms, legs and torso.

The lawsuit says that Bocchino was physically beaten by a number of other yacht patrons, and that members of the defendant’s security force did not intervene in time to stop the attack.

Michael T. van der Veen, a Bucks County lawyer representing Bocchino, wrote in the civil action that he has attempted to ascertain the name and address of the security company contracted by Ben Franklin Yacht at the time of the attack so as to discover who had participated in the attack upon the plaintiff, but that the request has gone unanswered.

Bocchino claims that he was caused to spend various sums of money on medical attention to treat his injuries.

He says he has experienced severe physical pain and mental suffering as a result of the assault and that he has sustained significant wage losses and has suffered a loss of life’s pleasures due to the incident.

The additional defendants named in the complaint, which was filed last week at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, are Captain Lucky Corp., ABC Corp. and John Does 1-5.

The defendants are accused of negligence for failing to maintain the premises in a safe condition that would safeguard and protect cruise patrons, failing to protect patrons such as the plaintiff from other patrons when the defendants had “actual and constructive notice of the dangerous and aggressive propensities” of the other individuals, failing to properly and adequately secure the premises, failing to properly police the premises, failing to properly train employees, and allowing dangerous patrons to remain on the premises without proper supervision.

Bocchino seeks more than $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, along with litigation costs and other relief.

 

The case ID number is 130902347.