A US$100 million ($135m) lawsuit filed against the owners and operators of a tourist duck boat that sank earlier this month in Missouri demands that the amphibious vehicles be banned.
The plaintiffs in the wrongful death lawsuit "asked us to file a lawsuit because they want duck boats to be banned in their current configuration," lawyer Robert Mongeluzzi said at a press conference.
The company that operated the duck boat that sank "was well aware of fatal design flaws," Mongeluzzi said.
Seventeen people died in the July 19 sinking of the duck boat during a thunderstorm on Table Rock Lake near the tourist mecca of Branson, Missouri.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of relatives of two of nine members of a family who died, said the operators ignored warnings that the vehicles are "death traps."
Among the defendants is Ripley Entertainment, which operated the Branson duck boat ride.
A spokeswoman said in a statement quoted in media reports that the company remains "deeply saddened" by the accident and supportive of the affected families. She had no further comment because a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation is ongoing.
Lawyers have focused on the boats' canopies, saying they trap passengers when the boats sink.
According to the suit, the NTSB warned about the dangers posed by the canopies is 2002 and the duck boat operators did nothing.
The lawsuit also raises questions about why passengers were not wearing life vests.
Duck boat rides are offered in many US cities. Their design traces back to World War II-era vehicles designed for military use.
