California IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Falling Tuna Brings $2.66-Million Award

A fisherman injured when a large tuna fell on him as a catch was being hoisted onto a boat in December, 1990, has been awarded $2.66 million by a jury that found his employer at fault. Julio Simoes, 32, said the 60- to 80-pound tuna fell from a fishing net that had been used to capture a school of tuna near American Samoa. He said that as fishermen used a hydraulic winch to haul in the catch, a tuna in the net fell to the deck, striking him on the shoulder. Simoes later underwent back surgery. The Superior Court jury found Traditional Mariner Inc. negligent.