Cruising For A Lawsuit

Former Senior cruise ship operator Jay Herring offers some insight . . . 

More on lawsuits from TravelPulse - Carnival Triumph Passengers File Lawsuits 

Carnival Cruise Lines is facing a number of lawsuits filed by passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph, which lost power in the Gulf of Mexico and was towed into Mobile, Ala., on Feb. 14. 

Miami-based maritime law firm Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman is seeking class-action status for its law suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Miami on behalf of passengers who were on the ship, alleging that the conditions on-board endangered their health.

The suit also contends that Carnival Triumph should have headed for Progreso, Mexico, because it was closer and would have eased conditions faster. 

Carnival has said the ship drifted away from Progreso, and that plan was further complicated by the fact that 900 of the 3,000 passengers did not have U.S. passports.

But not everyone believes filing lawsuits is the best strategy for passengers in this case. Indeed, one of the cruise industry’s most strident critics, attorney Jim Walker of Miami, said he does not believe in filing such suits.

In a blog entry posted in 2010 after a similar incident on the Carnival Splendor, Walker wrote that in order to have a legitimate case for compensation, a cruise passenger has to suffer a personal injury. “Experiencing inconvenience and unpleasant circumstances does not constitute a personal injury unless there is a physical injury,” he wrote. “If you fall down a flight of stairs in the dark and break your hip, that’s a personal injury. But taking cold showers, smelling toilets that can’t be flushed, eating Spam sandwiches in the dark or other similar ‘cruise from hell’ stories are not compensable.”

In a more recent blog entry, Walker added that these “conclusions I reached two years ago apply to this latest Carnival debacle.” Carnival has already agreed to refund passengers’ fares and travel expenses, wiped out shipboard accounts, offered a free cruise and paid them $500 each. “So if you are foolish enough to file suit [in Miami], you simply will not do any better than what is already being offered now,” Walker wrote. “Plus you will incur legal expenses and travel expenses pursuing a case in Miami which you are certain to lose.”

 Source: By Theresa Norton Masek - TravelPulse