Maritime Injury Attorney Blog

Unfortunately, sexual assaults happen onboard cruise ships much more often than one would expect. Our passenger cruise ship claims firm has handled numerous sexual assault cases involving sexual assault by a crew member on a passenger. Sadly, several of the cases have involved minors. Most of the time the rape or sexual assault onboard a cruise ship has gone with any conviction of the perpetrator of the crime. This has been due to a number of factors, mainly the lack of prompt reporting and investigation by the cruise line, as well as the complexities of jurisdiction over such crimes when they occur onboard a cruise ship. The cruise ships are registered in foreign countries, and most of the crimes happen in international waters and are committed by a foreign resident and citizen.

Recently, congress passed legislation to hopefully deal with many of the problems faced by United States passengers who are the victim of a sexual assault or rape onboard a cruise ship. This legislation includes reporting and investigation requirements, and clarifies some of the jurisdictional issues that got in the way previously of there being an adequate investigation performed.

However, in the particular case which we are reporting here, a bartender onboard the Carnival Freedom was identified as the assailant, who took a fourteen year old into a restricted area onboard the ship and had sex with her. The FBI was contacted and the assailant was taken into custody. The cruise ship employee pled guilt to a count of sexual abuse of a minor. The crew member was sentenced to jail plus has to pay $4,360 as restitution.

The incident again reminds the public that these types of incidents do happen on cruise ships and must be aware of this. The public imaged portrayed by the cruise lines has always been that a cruise is a carefree, no problem type of vacation, the love boat comes to the mind of most people. The "fun ship" is what carnival refers to about their ships. This causes people to let their guard down when on a cruise. It is important to be aware, and to carefully discuss these issues with your children when going onboard a cruise ship.

It is hard to believe that it has been since July of 2005 that George Smith was reported as missing during his honeymoon cruise with his wife, Jennifer. Since his disappearance, the FBI has been actively investigating the cause of his disappearance. There were many issues that surfaced following his disappearance regarding how the initial investigation was conducted by the cruise line. It has also been widely reported that the Smith family were at odds with Jennifer Hagel. It is was reported that Jennifer Hagel was critical of the parents of George Smith because Jennifer Hagel said that the parents never took into the possibility that George Smith's disappearance could have been related to intoxication and taking prescription medications, not foul play.

From the beginning, the Smith family has suspected foul play which resulted in the disappearance of George Smith. Our firm represented the Smith family. We are very pleased to hear of the settlement agreement that the Smith family was able to reach after the case proceeded to the Probate Court in Connecticut following an initial settlement agreement that was obtained in the wrongful death case.

Once a settlement agreement was reached for the wrongful death, the Probate Court had jurisdiction to determine whether the settlement was a reasonable settlement. The Smith family openly criticized the initial settlement agreement. However, the Probate Judge ruled that the settlement was reasonable and approved the initial settlement agreement. The Smith family, through their probate attorneys in Connecticut, appealed the ruling of the Probate Court. Prior to any disposition on the ruling whether the Probate Court was correct in approving the settlement as being reasonable, a final settlement agreement was reached among the Smith Family, Jennifer Hagel and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Ltd.

While this may end any litigation against the cruise lines for the disappearance of George Smith, the Smith family has made it very clear they will continue in their relentless efforts to get answers to their questions and do justice on behalf of George.

Our wrongful death firm is proud of our contributions in getting this case the public attention, as well as the attention of our United States Congress, showing the need to evaluate the number of the disappearances and other criminal acts occurring aboard cruise ships, as well as the need to address the Maritime laws governing the major cruise ship operators.

Continue reading "George Smith Family, Jennifer Hagel and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Ltd., Reach a Final Settlement Agreement Arising Out of the Disappearance of George Smith " »

An oil platform exploded at approximately 9:00 a.m. on September 2, 2010, approximately 200 miles west of where the BP Oil explosion occurred. There were 13 crewmembers aboard the oil platform, who all were tossed into the water, and were floating there until the rescuers arrived. One of those crewmembers was rushed to a hospital. The Coast Guard would not confirm whether any oil had actually leaked into the water. Although such a fire aboard an oil platform might be considered something that happens somewhat frequently, and not receive a lot of attention in the past, the BP Oil spill has caused this recent explosion to receive national attention. This explosion again raises the issue which environmental groups are arguing, which is that the current federal moratorium on deep water offshore drilling is necessary. This particular platform was not drilling and was not in deep water.

A letter from House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Rep., Henry A. Waxman, who is part of the investigation of the BP Oil spill, wrote the following in the Los Angeles Times "in the wake of the BP catastrophe, this is an extremely disturbing event," and "I call on the administration to immediately redouble safety reviews of all offshore drilling and platform operations in the Gulf and take all appropriate action to ensure safety and protection of the environment."

Another article in Politico states that Reps. Bart Stupak and Ed Markey "are leading the investigation in two subcommittees" of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The story states that "the explosion will almost certainly bolster Democrats' contention that off-shore drilling is not yet safe enough," and Republicans have "said offshore drilling should not be halted, but safety measures should be improved. This incident will likely give both sides more ammo going into an election season where Democrats are furiously trying to paint Republicans as friends with Big Oil."

Finally, the Wall Street Journal reported that this recent explosion may hamper the oil industry's efforts to portray the BP Oil spill as a fluke event.

The dangers of working on an offshore patrolling platform have become even more apparent in the wake of the BP Oil spill disaster which resulted in serious injuries and deaths.

Continue reading "Another Oil Rig Explosion Occurs 80 Miles Off the Louisiana Coast" »