Boat Fire Lawsuit Filed By Anaheim Hills Victim's Wife

ANAHEIM HILLS, CA — An Anaheim Hills widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the owners of the dive boat that caught fire and killed 34 people earlier this year. Christine Dignam, whose husband, Justin Dignam, died when the Conception caught fire Sept. 2 off the Santa Barbara coast, alleges in the that the ship was unsafe.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, is a counterclaim to a complaint filed preemptively by the boat owners to protect them from liability.

The complaint against Santa Barbara-based Truth Aquatics Inc. is the first from a relative of a passenger who was killed. A crew member who was injured trying to escape previously sued.

Dignam alleges that the vessel didn't have adequate smoke detectors or firefighting equipment and lacked enough emergency exits, and that a required night watch was not on duty when the flames broke out in the middle of the night.

Authorities are conducting investigations into the fire that killed all 33 passengers and one crew member sleeping below deck. The cause of the blaze has not been determined.

Justin Digman was a family man, beloved by all who knew him, and founder of Big Fish Payroll Service agency. He was a longtime member of the water polo community in Orange County, and a fund was established in his name. Thus far, over $20,000 have been raised for the USA Water Polo's Women's National Team. He also started the program, Feed the Brave, to give back to first responders.