by Spencer Aronfeld | Jan 23, 2019 | Cruise Ship Accidents, Cruise Ship Injury
Passengers and crew onboard the Norwegian Breakaway in January 2017 sailed directly into a nightmare situation as the ship stuck to its itinerary, despite countless warnings about a severe storm developing along the East coast and navigated right into the middle of a bomb cyclone. One year later, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is facing quite the legal battle following the incident. A complaint has recently been filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida by nearly 200 passengers who are suing NCL, accusing the cruise line of being negligent in making the decision to stick to the ship’s itinerary and knowingly sail into a massive storm. Many of the passengers who are a part of this lawsuit stated that they have suffered severe distress and that, while on the ship during this storm, they had a reasonable fear of death and that the ship would sink due to the storm conditions. In fact, several passengers stated that the storm and situation on the ship reminded them strongly of scenes from the Titanic, as they were tossed on board, watching as water poured into staterooms and other areas of the ship. Passengers on the ship at the time of the storm said that the company and its crew knew the store was developing and worsening by the day, but the chose to sail directly into the bomb cyclone despite multiple credible warnings. A bomb cyclone is another term for a winter hurricane and can be a deadly for a ship entering its path. This specific incident is not the only one that has fallen to a similar situation....
by Spencer Aronfeld | Jan 20, 2019 | Cruise Ship Accidents
Royal Caribbean has been hit with another tragedy after a teenage boy died after falling from an eighth-floor balcony while the cruise ship was docked in Haiti last week. It was reported that the 16-year-old boy was trying to climb into his room on the Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas ship through a nearby balcony when he suddenly slipped, falling to his death. The victim has been identified as Laurent Mercer from the Wallis and Futuna Islands located in the South Pacific. He was on a seven-day Caribbean cruise with his family. The ship departed from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was docked in Labadee, Haiti when the incident occurred. After the passenger fell, the ship’s medical team tried to resuscitate Mercer through CPR, but because of the extensive head trauma he suffered, he was not able to survive his injuries and was pronounced dead at 11:42 a.m. This tragedy follows another on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas after a crew member died after falling overboard into the Atlantic Ocean on Christmas Day. Carnival Cruise Line has also been in the news with the separate deaths of two passengers who fell overboard. It is important to note that these types of injuries, while they seem common with how often they have been reported in the news recently, are not the norm. In any given year, approximately 19 people on average fall overboard while on a cruise ship, based on data released in April by cruise industry consulting firm G.P. Wild. Relatively speaking, these numbers are low considering more than 20 million people go on cruises...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Jan 16, 2019 | Cruise Ship Accidents
MIAMI – (January 16, 2019) Miami-based Aronfeld Trial Lawyers has filed the first lawsuit (CASE NO. 19-cv-20213) in Federal Court on behalf of injured passengers onboard the Carnival Sunshine. The widely publicized cruise ship tilt that occurred on October 28, 2018 after the ship left Port Canaveral, FL not only caused widespread panic onboard – but resulted in serious injuries to some of its passengers. “We are seeking a trial by jury in this case,” said the plaintiff’s attorney Spencer Aronfeld. “Carnival Cruise Line’s negligence caused our clients great bodily harm that is either permanent or continuing in nature. Through discovery, it is evident that Carnival violated the duty of care owed to its passengers. Its failure to maintain the electrical switchboard in a safe and reasonable manner caused the fin stabilizer malfunction, resulting in the ship tilting drastically to one side. Further, we feel that the Defendant had actual knowledge of the risk-creating conditions and failed to implement proper methods of inspection, which would have avoided the outcome.” Due to Carnival’s negligence, multiple passengers have suffered severe bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, hospital expenses, medical and nursing care treatment, lost wages and future loss of earnings. Plaintiffs seek a trial by jury and damages in excess of $75,000.00, exclusive of interest, costs and attorney’s fees. ### Miami-based Aronfeld Trial Lawyers was established by Managing Partner and Board Certified Trial Lawyer, Spencer Aronfeld in 1991. The firm represents clients involved in serious injuries in the areas of Maritime Law, Automobile Accidents, Premises Liability, Cycling Accidents,...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Jan 10, 2019 | Cruise Ship Accidents
Getting sick while on a cruise is every passenger’s worst nightmare but imagine getting sick along with hundreds of other passengers and not being allowed to leave the ship. This situation describes the nightmare that passengers aboard the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas are now facing following an outbreak of the norovirus on the ship. The ship departed Port Canaveral last Sunday and was set to sail for a seven-night cruise through the Caribbean. However, shortly after the ship left port, passengers began to experience symptoms associated with the norovirus. Now it is estimated that a total of 277 guests and crewmembers have been affected with some type of gastrointestinal illness. Two other norovirus outbreaks occurred on Royal Caribbean Cruise ships back in December 2018. The outbreaks raised concern over the cruise line’s sanitation practices and the cruise industry in general. Those who have been affected by the illness are being treated by the ship’s medical team with over-the-counter medication. The ship’s crew is also engaging in intensive sanitary procedures to reduce the risk that the illness will spread any further. Confirmation as to whether the passengers who are sick have been quarantined has not been obtained. Illnesses like that can be the result of a cruise ship’s own negligence. Norovirus and food poisoning are some of the more common types of illnesses that result from the cruise staff’s negligence. Recently, a 17-year-old passenger died from food poisoning while on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Cruise ship safety tips can help passengers protect themselves from these risks, but sometimes, the illness can be unavoidable. It is unclear at this...
by Spencer Aronfeld | Jan 9, 2019 | Cruise Ship Accidents
A federal judge ruled this week that Carnival Cruise Line was not responsible for the death of a 33-year-old mother who fell overboard during a cruise in 2016. The mother of four, Samantha Broberg, was seen on video falling overboard the Carnival Liberty on May 13. Her body was never found. The Carnival crew failed to report she had gone overboard until 15 hours after the incident, according to the Miami Herald. Broberg’s widower sued the cruise line in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Miami and alleged Carnival knowingly over-served Broberg alcoholic beverages, which resulted in her falling overboard. When a passenger falls overboard from a cruise ship, the results are almost always deadly. The family members of passengers who die while on a cruise ship may have a viable legal claim against the cruise line when the death occurs because of the negligence or carelessness of the cruise line or its medical team. However, the law that covers these incidents is complex and governed primarily by an 1886 statute called the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA). INJURED ON A CRUISE SHIP OR CRUISE SHIP EXCURSION? SPEAK TO A CRUISE SHIP ACCIDENT LAWYER TODAY: 1-866-597-4529. If you have been injured on your cruise, on a wet and slippery deck, down a poorly lit staircase or steep gangway, in port on an excursion, or on a tender boat- it is important that you speak as soon as possible with a lawyer who specializes in personal injury claims against cruise lines. Most cruise lines, including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, MSC, Disney, Holland America, Princess,...
