Class-action lawsuit filed in cruise ship fiasco

[TexasTowelie]

A Florida maritime law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of passengers aboard the ill-fated Carnival Triumph.

The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 18 in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, claims that Carnival Corp. was negligent for allowing Carnival Triumph to embark on the failed five-day cruise when the company was aware the ship was prone to mechanical and/or engine issues.

Three days after leaving Galveston on Feb. 7 for Mexico, a fire ignited in the Triumph's engine room, disabling the vessel's propulsion system and knocking out power. The ship drifted for days in the Gulf of Mexico before it was towed to Mobile, Ala., on Feb. 14.

Attorneys at Miami-based Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman filed the lawsuit on behalf of passengers Matt and Melissa Crusan of Oklahoma, and more than 100 other passengers aboard the vessel. Most of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are from Texas, according to attorney Mike Winkleman.

More at http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Class-action-lawsuit-filed-in-cruise-ship-fiasco-4293632.php .

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Good. Also they did not go to closest port.

[malaise]

2. We know why

They should have seen this coming

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Yup

[monmouth3]

3. I was under the impression that passengers could not sue, they signed a document giving away those

rights. I could be wrong but that document makes Carnival not responsible if things go wrong.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. I too thought there was a waiver...

[cbayer]

5. While those clauses are often found in contracts, they do not always hold up

in court.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. There were a variety of things that Carnival did

That will make these clauses less than iron clad.

I hope they win good serious damages, and that the US and Mexico start doing spot safety inspections. This is no joke, people could die due to their....negligence.

[octoberlib]

8. +1

[Posteritatis]

9. That sort of clause gets regularly (and sometimes successfully) challenged

Especially if whatever mess that provoked the lawsuit is really unambiguously one party's fault.

[Peregrine]

11. You can't waive negligence

But with a class action, the lawyers make millions while the victims get squat.

[Warpy]

10. The negligence came in when they refused to pay the

harbor fees at Progresso, on the north Yucatan, the closest port. Instead, they were adrift for five unnecessary days until they were close enough to be towed to a cheaper US port.

That lawsuit might have a chance of success. This one really doesn't, not unless they can prove an ongoing problem in the engine room with the ship's electrical system.