Maritime Injury Attorney Blog

In December of 2011, Patricia Elkins, 47, pleaded guilty to a bomb threat she made towards a cruise ship in June of that same year. Elkins, who is from Arkansas, called Carnival Cruise Lines to anonymously inform them that there was a bomb on one of their ships en route to Cozumel, Mexico. There were two ships, each with about 3,000 people aboard, which were immediately informed of this threat. A bomb was not found but police were able to track down Patricia Elkins who at first denied making the threat. She then later admitted that she called in the threat. Elkins told police that she was upset with a man she was living with at the time who was aboard one of the ships. She was mad at the man for not including her in his trip. This was a little too extreme for revenge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Schoenbein tried to get her a strict sentence, "citing the number of people affected, some 7,000 aboard two ships, and the time and effort spent by crew members to investigate the threat. The prosecutor also noted that Elkins had called in a threat in 2003 to a high school in Bloomington but wasn't prosecuted." Yesterday, Patricia Elkins was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

When a seaman suffers a personal injury during the scope of his employment, he can bring a negligence action under the Jones Act against his employer. He also can bring an action against the shipowner for unseaworthiness. Unseaworthiness is a legal term, but in the context of a claim by a seaman, means that something aboard the vessel was not reasonably fit for its intended use. This can include a procedure at work or a job method. It can include assigning too few persons to a particular job task. It is a form of strict liability.

Previously, the Supreme Court had decided the case of Miles vs. Apex Marine Corp., which dealt with the damages available to a seaman in a wrongful death case. The Supreme Court ruled the damages needed to be uniform between the Jones Act and general maritime law in a wrongful death case, and denied loss of society damages to the spouse of the seaman who died.

Following the Miles decision, there were decisions questioning the availability of punitive damages to a seaman under the general maritime law.

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States decided the case of Atlantic Sounding Co. Inc. v. Townsend, ruling that punitive damages can be extended to general maritime law claims unless a specific act of Congress had been enacted stating otherwise. In Townsend, the seaman was allowed to pursue his claim for punitive damages for failure to provide maintenance and cure.

In a recent decision of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the court, utilizing the logic of the Townsend case, and ruled that a seaman can recover punitive damages under the general maritime law for the unseaworthiness of the ship.

Continue reading "Seamen Can Recover Punitive Damages in an Unseaworthiness Claim" »

Friday night "a small and short-lived engine fire" occurred aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. The ship was on its way back to Port Everglades from St Maarten when the fire broke out at about 7:45 p.m. The fire was immediately extinguished and no injuries were reported. In addition, the fire did not delay the voyage. Sadly this is not the first time this has occurred. During a hearing before the U.S. Senate last month following the Costa Concordia disaster, Ross A. Klein, PhD, who is a leading authority in the cruise area, testified saying that since 1990, 79 cruise ships have experienced a fire. Only a month ago another Royal Caribbean Cruise the Azamara Quest experienced a fire in its engine room which disabled the ship. In addition, the Costa Allegra also experienced a fire which left it floating in the middle of the Indian Ocean until it could be towed to the Seychelles.

Although none of the fires discussed above resulted in serious injuries or deaths, this is not always the case. Our firm previously represented the families from the Scandinavian Star who lost loved ones in a fire aboard a cruise ship. 159 people died.

As disasters happen, more safety rules and policies get developed. Sadly, it takes a disaster for the cruise line industry to act. Today, CNN travel reported that the cruise ship industry has adopted new safety policies in response to the Costa Concordia disaster.

In 2010 president Obama signed into law the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act this large was in large part spearheaded by a series of congressional hearings addressing cruise ship safety concerns which came to light after the disappearance of George Smith during his honeymoon cruise. My firm represented the family of George Smith. I also spoke at the congressional hearings as a maritime legal expert.

Our firm acts as safety advocates for those harmed at sea.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced that the IMO has agreed to a proposal by the United Kingdom, the Cruise Lines International Association and the Philippines to promulgate guidelines which will address concerns relating to alleged serious crimes and persons missing at sea.

There were 24 delegations which spoke at the IMO meeting held on April 18th. All of them supported the proposal.

The key elements that are going to be part of the guidelines include preservation of evidence, medical and pastoral care for victims, effective and timely reporting to governments, as well as cooperation between the governments with respect to investigations.

Our firm has handled many cases where all these problems have surfaced, and applauds the announcement that guidelines are going to be developed to address these problems. Many of these problems were brought to light following the disappearance of George Smith during his honeymoon cruise. Our law firm represented the parents of George Smith. We fought for more than a year simply trying to get evidence from the cruise line company and from other sources in order to provide the parents with answers to the questions they had about the disappearance of their son. We were met with roadblocks all along the road.

The problems started with the investigation onboard the vessel, where there were allegations that material information was either not properly preserved or destroyed. There were problems determining which authority had the jurisdiction to conduct the investigation, which resulted in a significant delay in the F.B.I. getting involved in the investigation. Again, resulting in loss of material evidence that could have solved the mystery.

The problems with the George Smith case, as well as other cases involving missing persons onboard a cruise ship, led to Congressional Hearings addressing these matters. I was an invited speaker as a maritime expert to answer questions in Congress regarding safety laws and procedures that apply to the cruise ship companies when incidents such as this occur onboard a cruise ship. Eventually, the Congressional Hearings led to the passage of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act which was signed into law by President Obama.

The next step with respect to the IMO is to get down to the technical details to complete the guidelines. The work is supposed to begin immediately and will be led by the United Kingdom along with other member states of the IMO. The goal is to develop guidelines that are proportionate for the different ship types and without an excessive burden to the Master and crew. The IMO will receive input from CLIA and other organizations with specialized expertise.

I think attorney Laurence D. Gore for his reporting on the news about the agreement to develop these guidelines. The guidelines are long overdue, and hopefully will lead to greater clarity when an incident such as what occurred in the George Smith case happens. The goal is to make sure the cruise ship companies promptly report these incidents to the appropriate authorities, and take all necessary steps to assure that important and critical evidence is not lost after a serious crime is reported, or a person is reported as missing at sea.

Our firm continues to act as safety advocates for all those injured or harmed at sea.

It was reported that a cruise ship passenger onboard the Star Princess is still haunted by images from a recent cruise in March aboard the passenger cruise ship Star Princess, owned by Princess Cruise Lines. The haunted images obviously are not what this passenger expected when taking a cruise onboard the Star Princess. I am sure the passenger expected to come back with lots of images, but of pleasant and beautiful experiences during the cruise.

However, the image that is haunting Judy Meredith is her observing boaters that were in distress in a small fishing boat in the open waters off the Pacific Coast of Panama. Judy Meredith, along with other passengers, were looking for seabirds. What they spotted was frantic gestures coming from a small fishing boat that was adrift a couple of miles away. Despite the passengers' efforts to contact the United States Coast Guard through the internet service onboard the ship, and despite reporting the distressed boaters to a crewmember, the passengers are trying to figure out how this large cruise ship failed to initiate any rescue efforts. The Star Princess kept sailing and made no efforts to rescue the distressed boaters.

A commercial fishing vessel then spotted the distressed boat near the Galapagos Islands, but only one survivor was rescued, an 18-year-old named Adrian Vasquez who was alive after 28 days at sea. It was reported that his two friends had died, and sadly, one died only hours after the cruise ship passed.

The cruise ship passenger, Judy Meredith, stated it so well. She was quoted: "This has already been weeks now, and we're just sick about it. It's like you're in a car and you see somebody bleeding in a big car accident and somebody else driving the car won't stop. You see it, you're just haunted by it."

Princess Cruises, which is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines, has issued a statement blaming a "breakdown in communication in relaying the passenger's concern." Princess is taking the position that the bridge was not notified by the crewmember the passenger reported to. Princess said that the captain, Captain Edward Perrin, and the officer on watch, would definitely have taken action if they had been properly notified. Princess stated it has "deep regrets" about the two men who died.

As stated, Princess is owned by Miami based Carnival Corporation, the same company that owns Costa Cruises. This is another in a string of problems that have struck the company in recent times. Will this result in a crumbling of the Carnival empire? MOST LIKELY, NOT.

It's important to note that international law requires that the cruise ship company attempt to rescue these boaters. Specifically, Regulation 33 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V states:

The Master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide
assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in
distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance, if
possible informing them or the Search and Rescue Service that the ship is
doing so. If the ship receiving the distress alert is unable or, in the special
circumstances of the case considers it unreasonable or un-necessary to
proceed to their assistance, the Master must enter in the log-book the reason
for failing to proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress, taking into
account the recommendation of the Organization to inform the appropriate
Search and Rescue Service accordingly.

Princess Cruises has also responded to questions about this law dealing with rescue by stating the following:

"We all understand that it is our responsibility and also the law of the sea to
provide assistance to any vessel in distress, and it is not an uncommon occur-
rence for our ships to be involved in a rescue at sea."

Prince claims to have been involved in more than 30 rescues in the last 10 years.

A representative of the U.S. Coast Guard District 11, which would cover the Pacific waters, indicated that no messages were received from the cruise ship or any of their passengers regarding the boaters being spotted while they were in distress.

Our Miami based maritime law firm represents passengers and crewmembers in personal injury and wrongful death claims against cruise ship companies. We also handle all types of boating accidents.

Monday night while the Carnival Spirit was en route to Hawaii, the passengers received an alert that a 28-year-old man jumped overboard into the Pacific Ocean. It was the fourth day of a 15-night cruise. According to a passenger aboard the ship, when the alert sounded, the cruise was quickly slowed down and life boats were lowered. A few moments later, the man was rescued and was said to be in "good condition." It has been suggested from passengers onboard the ship that the man jumped from the adult-only Serenity Deck into the water. Not all cases end like this and the cruise ship should be commended on its fast approach to rescuing and saving this man's life.

She was only 49-years-old. Christina Cassin was with her husband Scott Turco during an 11-day cruise onboard the Celebrity passenger cruise ship the Equinox.

The Equinox docked in Cozumel on March 28th.

The husband stated: "We went for a group dive. At some point I turned to the dive master to tell him she was going to the surface and when I turned back towards her, she was gone."

According to the husband, the current was extremely strong when they went in to the water. A videographer reportedly captured bubbles from some of the divers' regulators being pulled toward the bottom as they were caught in the current.

It was reported that the Mexican Navy searched the waters near Cozumel for 72 hours. The body was not discovered. According to her husband, he believes she was sucked under a reef line in the current and did not survive. "It is highly unlikely she is alive," the husband said.

Christina Cassin and Scott Turco had been married since 1966, meeting in the army where they both worked as nurses. According to Turco, his wife had completed nine or 10 dives previously and was certain a few years ago.

Further information about the dive company, and any relationship the company may have to the cruise line company was not indicated in the news story. The information was obtained from the Atlanta CBS website.

If in fact it was the shoreside excursion sold by the cruise ship company, there are possible theories of liability against the cruise ship company. Also, if the cruise ship company knew of passengers diving in this particular area, and knew of dangerous currents, but failed to warn, there also could be potential liability. However, holding a cruise line company accountable for shoreside excursions, or accidental deaths that occur at the various ports of call a cruise ship travels to can be very difficult and challenging. The law is favorable for the cruise lines with respect to liability for accidental deaths occurring on land in different ports of call, as well as liability for accidental deaths during shoreside excursions.

Our Miami based maritime law firm continues to act as safety advocates for those injured or harmed at sea.

The United States Coast Guard has issued a safety alert that advises any owners or operators of a commercially Uninspected Passenger Vessel, referred to as UPVs they must be in compliance with certain U.S. laws and regulations. The marine safety alert, titled Alert 01-12, states that the Coast Guard's Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety became aware of instances where recreational boats have been manufactured and sold, but have not met federal construction requirements first. Some of these UPVs have been utilized to carry passengers for hire. This safety alert is advising any of the UPV operators that they must be aware that they must comply with appropriate U.S. laws and regulations.

The laws that apply to UPVs can be found at 46 U.S.C. 4105 (a). Recreational vessels are dealt with in 46 U.S.C. Chapter 43. Regulations based on these laws are found in 33 CFR Parts 181 and 183, and are the minimum safety requirements for recreational boat manufacturing.

The safety alert of the Coast Guard also states that it is the responsibility of U.S. Coast Guard License Masters who operate UPVs and passenger-for-hire operations to ensure compliance with all the federal requirements applicable to the vessel.

Our Miami based maritime and admiralty law firm continues to be safety advocates for those harmed at sea, involving all types of cruise ship and boating accidents, including accidents involving recreational watercraft.

CBS News reported yesterday that the cruise ship Azamara Quest that is part of Miami, Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. suffered an engine room fire. Smoke spead through the cruise ship quickly causing passengers to put on life vests and gather for roll call. Though many were fearful because of the recent Costa Concordia event when it became clear that the fire was quickly extinguished passengers began to party.

Passengers began to enjoy barbecues on the deck and free drinks. People didn't complain and instead remained upbeat.

"It was unfortunate, but the crew was totally, utterly amazing, taking care of us, making sure we were safe, pulling double duty," said passenger Krasnick.

Our Miami based law firm is currently assisting passengers and crewmembers who were involved in the Costa Concordia incident, and we continue to be safety advocates for all those injured or killed at sea.