PORT ANGELES — The family of a Port Angeles man who was paralyzed by a fall at the Port Angeles Marina in 2004 is taking the case to the state Supreme Court.
The state Division II Court of Appeals released an unpublished opinion last week that unanimously denied Alex M. M. Ralston’s appeal, saying a Superior Court judge’s dismissal of the negligence claims was appropriate.
A petition to the state Supreme Court is being prepared, said the family’s attorney.
Ralston, then 17, fell while working aboard the 65-foot Odyssey, which was moored at the Port of Port Angeles Boat Haven marina.
Ralston, then a student at Port Angeles High School, fell 8½ feet from the boat onto a dock, landing on his head.
Ralston sustained multiple injuries from the fall, leaving him with hearing loss and other ailments, and confined to a wheelchair.
The lawsuit names the port, the marina and the owner of the boat, Roger Hoff, who uses the boat for his whale-watching business, Friday Harbor-based San Juan Excursions, Inc.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Alex Ralston and his parents, John M. Ralston and Gail T. Ralston.
John Ralston did not return calls seeking comment, nor did Dave Hagiwara, deputy director of the Port of Port Angeles, or the port’s attorney, Mike Barcott of Seattle.
After both of Clallam County Superior Court judge’s recused themselves, Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser dismissed the lawsuit in February, saying that the marina did not have the responsibility to require that boats being repaired there provide safety equipment for minor workers.
Ralston’s attorney, Robert Kraft of Seattle, argued that the marina “has a duty to protect the minors that are working in the marina,” he said.
He said the Ralstons would petition the state Supreme Court to hear the case.
