Maritime Injury Attorney Blog

A Tampa Bay news station is reporting that a couple that purchased a "dream cruise," to travel the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star are now saying they are reluctant to step foot on a cruise ship again after one of them got extremely sick with what was believed to be the norovirus and then was left in Cartagena, Colombia. The Colemans went aboard the Norwegian Star with expectations of it being a memorable cruise through the Panama Canal. However, Ronald Coleman got extremely sick during the cruise. "He was so sick, he couldn't sit up long enough to sign his name," reported his wife, Betty Coleman.

The couple was then dropped off in Cartagena, Colombia to receive further medical care and treatment. Although their son was listed on an emergency contact form with the cruise line as the next of kin to be called in case of an emergency, the son was not notified by the cruise line about the fact the Colemans were left in a foreign country to receive medical care and treatment. The cruise line responded by saying the couple was given a chance to call their son prior to disembarking the vessel, but chose not to do so.

Mark Coleman, the son, stated that he first heard of his father's sickness on Friday after he received a frantic call from his mother. His mother was so frantic she was unable to state where she was. The son then called Tampa's 10 News after NCL could not tell him of his parents' exact location in Cartagena, Colombia. It was reported that he was told his parents were on the ship.

A State Department official was contacted who assisted in locating his parents. The Colemans have requested an apology from the cruise line, but the cruise line officials have responded by saying that the Colemans didn't express any dissatisfaction with their care, and issued a statement, which is obviously from their Public Relations Department. I have previously handled a case against this particular cruise line where discovery revealed an extensive manual dealing with how to respond to crisis situations and adverse publicity. A cruise line is prepared for adverse publicity, and typically issues sworn statements to the public in an attempt to diffuse any adverse publicity. In one case involving the cruise line allegedly heading into the teeth of a storm despite the forecast, and allegedly endangering the lives of the passengers, the cruise line promptly got into the media outlets with a response that the cruise ship had struck what was called a "freak wave" which was unavoidable. The characterization of a "freak wave" was to portray the incident as an avoidable incident with a wave that could not have been anticipated. However, through discovery in that particular case, the captain who was operating the ship at the time denied the fact that there was a "freak wave" that struck the vessel despite the fact the cruise line had issued statements saying there was in fact a "freak wave". This illustrates the tacts of "spinning" factsin a certain way in response to adverse publicity.

In this particular case, NCL issued the following statement in response to the ordeal suffered by the Colemans:

Continue reading "Upset Cruise Ship Passengers Left in Colombia Speak Out" »

Eight relatives decided to go out fishing on a 22-foot boat despite a small craft advisory warning of poor weather conditions. The small pleasure craft encountered seas of 7-feet plus, and winds up to 38 miles per hour. It is reported that two waves hit the boat one after the other, which resulted in capsizing the 22-foot boat. One of the passengers, a 79-year-old woman, died during the incident. Remarkably, it was a small blue water cooler that was onboard the boat that provided the floatation device for four women, including a four year-old child. The remaining three men were found holding on to the capsized boat, with its bow protruding only a few feet out of the water. They were able to hold on for approximately 20 hours before they were rescued. There were reports of exhaustion, jellyfish stings and hypothermia.

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The 79-year-old woman who died was the mother of one of the passengers who reported that his mother died in his arms minutes following the capsizing of the boat. He couldn't hold on to her any longer due to exhaustion after she died.

A commercial fisherman was in the area when he spotted a large object floating in the water. As he approached, he saw a man waving and it was one of the men holding on to the sunken boat. As he approached he realized there were three men. After the men were found, the Coast Guard was called immediately. The Coast Guard then found the women who were hanging on to the small 2-1/2 foot cooler, including the four-year-old girl.

The survivors were taken to a hospital and reported as exhausted, and swollen from the jellyfish stings, as well as dehydrated. However, none of them were reported to have suffered life threatening injuries. They were all very fortunate to have survived.

A representative of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee, the agency responsible for investigating boating accidents here in Florida, said "they shouldn't have been out there". The small craft advisory warning should have resulted in a decision not to go boating in such adverse conditions. Another factor the agency was considering was the fact that the small recreational boat was overcrowded.

Boating accidents in Florida occur at a high frequency. See the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Statistical Report.

Our firm continues to be safety advocates for passengers and crewmembers injured in all types of boating accidents, including accidents on yachts, cruise ships and recreational boats.

As a maritime attorney for almost 30 years, I have seen many fatalities in connection with boating accidents as a result of the failure to wear a life jacket. Recently, I did a blog publishing statistics of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee reporting 4604 accidents that involved 672 deaths reflecting the number of injuries and fatalities in Florida due to boating accidents. The report emphasized that one of the major causes of fatalities is the failure to wear a life jacket. There has been boater safety education legislation introduced in different states which specifically are designed to educate boaters about safety precautions, including the importance all occupants wearing life jackets.

It was reported that over the weekend, during bad weather here in Florida, that a pleasure boat capsized in rough seas off the Florida Keys. An 80-year old woman was reported missing and presumed drowned. A commercial boat came by and rescued three men that were clinging to the overturned watercraft, and they alerted the Coast Guard. A four year old girl, as well as three women were then located holding on to a floating cooler. The Coast Guard reported that the boaters were not wearing life jackets when the boat capsized.

The seven people that were rescued are reported to have floated for nearly a day in the rough weather after the boat sank.

This tragic accident emphasizes the need to be very aware of the weather forecast, and not to take a boat out in extremely rough weather, as well as emphasizes the need to wear life jackets.

Our hearts go out to the victims and the families of this tragic incident. Thankfully, it appears that the seven people that were rescued will recover.

The commercial fisherman who initially discovered the capsized boat should be applauded for his efforts in helping rescue the individuals, as well as the efforts of the United States Coast Guard.

Our firm continues to be safety advocates for those harmed at sea.

I had previously reported about another incident involving a cruise ship worker that went missing while onboard a cruise ship named. Rebecca Coriam was working on a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Lines named the Disney Wonder. The 24 year old crewmember apparently made a mysterious phone call and then later disappeared without a trace.

It has been reported that at least 168 people disappeared from cruise ships and ferries in international waters since 1995, statistics provided by International Cruise Victims Association.

According to international maritime laws, typically the country where the ship is registered gets involved in the investigation. In the case of the Disney Wonder, the ship is registered in the Bahamas. Although a British citizen, the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam was investigated by police from the Bahamas. Rebecca's parents, rightfully so, have expressed shock and anger at the fact that the Bahamian police got involved in the investigation instead of American or British police. This has been a problem I have observed over the many years I have been representing passengers and crewmembers who have been victims of accidents and crimes onboard the passenger cruise ships. Most of these incidents happen in international waters, and involve ships that are registered for the convenience of the cruise line companies in a foreign country. There are often complex jurisdictional issues that get in the way of a prompt and adequate investigation being conducted. An example is the George Smith case, which involved a passenger who was on his honeymoon who went missing while on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship the Brilliance of the Seas. The Turkish police authorities were the ones who got involved in the immediate investigation of the incident, and there were delays with the F.B.I. getting fully involved in the investigation despite the fact that George Smith was an American citizen. The investigation was highly criticized, and blamed by many experts as the reason why his disappearance was never solved despite there being strong evidence of his disappearance being related to foul play.

In the case of Rebecca Coriam, the Bahamian police have little incentive to conduct a complete and thorough investigation in a case involving a British resident. The only real connection to the Disney Wonder, or the company, with the Bahamas, is the fact that the Bahamas is used as the country to register the ships. The Bahamas are considered a flag of convenience for the cruise ship companies. Registering in the Bahamas is a big benefit to the cruise ship companies, and obviously a big benefit to the Bahamas that have all of these cruise ship companies paying money to register their ships in the Bahamas.

The parents of Rebecca Coriam pointed out that only a single police officer from the Bahamas got involved in the investigation. It was also pointed out that the investigator failed to interview any of the approximately 3,700 passengers and crew that were onboard the ship.

Continue reading "Parents of Rebecca Coriam Appear on CNN Demanding New Cruise Ship Laws" »

An interesting article appears in the Sun Sentinel questioning the safety of offering all you can drink alcohol packages on cruise ships.

Cruise ships in South Florida account for the major of travel on passenger cruise ships. Carnival Cruise lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise line, and Celebrity Cruise lines are based in South Florida.

The lawyers at RPM have been handling all types of maritime accident cases for more than 25 years, including cruise ship accidents and boating accidents.