The suit, filed by Manhattan attorney Frank Floriani, claims the tug captain failed to post a lookout or to yield right of way. The suit names the captain of the tugboat Donald C. as Michael Joseph Mezger and says he was at the wheel and was also in charge of the 324-foot barge, the Patriot. But Mezger is not named as a defendant.

The suit seeks unspecified damages for pain and suffering and wrongful death on behalf of Medina's two children, for injuries to the brothers and the damage to the boat.

A Coast Guard officer in charge of the agency's probe into the accident has said that the barge and tug had enough room in the shipping channel to steer around the smaller craft.

The 24-foot pleasure boat was anchored in the navigation channel south of the Execution Rocks Lighthouse while its occupants were fishing, according to Lt. Jake Hobson of the Marine Casualty Investigations Office in New York City. Because there was sufficient clearance in the channel, Hobson said it is unlikely any action would be taken against the owner of the pleasure boat.

The Coast Guard, however, might penalize Seaboat, though legally it first must have forensic evidence such as paint scrapes. The Nassau police lab is testing evidence taken off the barge hull.

Raphael Rivera said after the accident that he saw the tug pushing the barge when they were about 300 yards away. Rivera said he waved an orange life jacket, then jumped into the water with Medina. After the impact, Rivera saw Medina, who was wearing a life jacket, floating facedown about 50 feet away. She died a week later.

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