NYC chef Leonel B. Pena sues Vista Yacht Cruises over lost fingers

Chef Leonel B. Pena, 73, misplaced three fingers in a boating accident.
J.C. Rice

A New York Metropolis cruise chef was maimed for all times when he was “ordered” to assist dock the vessel, based on a lawsuit.

Leonel B. Pena, 73, misplaced three fingers on his left hand in a grotesque Nov. 11 incident aboard the Majestic Princess that has now robbed him of his livelihood, he alleged in courtroom papers.

Pena, who was employed as a prepare dinner, was handed a roped and “negligently ordered” to assist safe the 110-foot yacht to the dock, based on courtroom papers.

The boat all of a sudden moved as he was making an attempt to tie it down, tightening the rope and slicing off his pinky, ring and center fingers, based on the swimsuit.

The Majestic Princess had simply returned to Pier 36 in Manhattan following a day cruise to the Statue of Liberty, Pena informed The Submit.

“I used to be requested to assist help in docking the boat. It wasn’t a part of my job. … They inform me to do one thing and I do it,” Pena mentioned via a translator.

“My life has modified. I’m making an attempt to regulate to the brand new regular. I don’t have use of my left hand and every part is tough. I’m not working,” Pena mentioned, including, “I really feel very unhappy.”

All of it occurred right away, Pena mentioned.

Lionel Pena — who was employed as a prepare dinner — was handed a roped and “negligently ordered” to assist safe the 110-foot yacht to the dock, his lawsuit alleges.

J.C.Rice

“I used to be in full shock and didn’t understand the fingers had been amputated. I seemed down and noticed all of the blood was gushing down and I used to be lacking fingers,” he recalled.

His fingers fell into the East River and couldn’t be discovered.

“By the point the police and ambulance arrived the present was shifting an excessive amount of. They'd no probability to recuperate the fingers,” Pena mentioned. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, the place he underwent surgical procedure.

A local of the Dominican Republic, Pena got here to the US in 1968. He’s been a prepare dinner for about 20 years.

Today, he’s getting bodily remedy thrice per week and being fitted for prosthetics.

“We imagine that whoever did it thought it was a mere minor activity to throw a rope across the capstan. My consultants say that’s ridiculous,” Pena’s legal professional, Lawrence Goldhirsch, informed The Submit. “Ropes round your waist, it may possibly tear you in half. He wasn’t educated for that.”

Pena is suing boat proprietor Vista Yacht Cruises of Weehawken, NJ, for unspecified damages.

The Vista Yacht web site says the Majestic Princess is US Coast Guard licensed and may carry as much as 300 passengers. Vista Yacht Cruises didn't return messages in search of remark.