A cruise passenger faces a criminal charge after police accused him of shoving a bus conductor coming around to check tickets, according to reporting from Cruise News Today.
The alleged incident occurred when a North American cruise passenger skipped out on the $2 bus fare while the ship was docked in Italy. As the bus conductor was coming around for a “spot ticket check,” the passenger allegedly shoved him, grabbed back his passport, and fled from the area.
Police were able to locate the passenger using a combination of nearby security footage and records from the cruise ship. The man was found by local police that same day and was charged with resisting arrest.
Thankfully, the bus driver was not injured though he did tell police he was shaken from the incident.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a Florida-based personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling cruise ship cases. From painful slip and falls to shocking cases of medical malpractice and harrowing criminal cases, our attorneys know that being on vacation does not mean you are entirely safe from injury. While passengers who embark on these cruises are more focused on creating fun-filled memories and unwinding from the typical stressors of everyday life, our attorneys are all too familiar with the various ways in which cruise lines fail to protect their passengers.
As common carriers, cruise ships have a heightened duty of care to ensure the safety and well-being of passengers. This means ensuring that they are equipped with adequate and skilled medical staff who can address various injuries and illnesses that may occur onboard and ensuring that their ships are free from fall hazards that may cause injury to passengers.
In an ongoing excursion injury case, being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro, our client was severely injured by her cruise’s jet ski tour guide. Though jet skis are tremendously powerful machines, they are often marketed as beginner friendly. Our attorneys, and Mr. Shapiro in particular, know that operating these vessels safely oftentimes involves much more than that.
In an article published last year in the Daily Business Review, Mr. Shapiro discusses the struggles that many beginners often face while on these machines and said that Leesfield & Partners has seen no other water-related activity produce more injuries and deaths than jet skis. Tragically, many novice jet skiers are not made aware of the strength and knowledge needed to safely operate these vessels.
In this ongoing case, our client was on a guided jet ski excursion with her cruise line when the tour guide negligently crashed into her from behind. As a result of the horrific crash, she suffered spinal fractures and severe bruising.
Another ongoing case being handled by the firm involves a woman who was further injured by cruise ship personnel while returning to the vessel after a shore excursion. Our client had suffered an injury while off the boat and informed the crew that she would need to see the cruise’s medical staff upon her return. Staff no crew made any preparations or attempts to aid this woman as she hobbled and made her way back to the ship. No wheelchairs or other accommodations were made available to our client, who was clearly injured but able to walk on her own.
Winded, she stopped near the midpoint of the gangway to collect herself and was approached by the crew who grabbed her in such a way that she fell to the floor in agony, causing further injury. At this point, after repeatedly telling the crew she needed immediate medical attention, she was finally given a wheelchair and was taken to the infirmary.
While there, she was diagnosed with multiple fractures to her hip and shoulder. Hours later, she was transferred to a remote hospital in Brazil and was left to wait a full week with insufficient medical care before she could be transported to a larger city and then to the U.S. for a full hip replacement.
She spent weeks recovering at a hospital in Florida before she was able to return to her home in another state.
This ongoing case is being handled by Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm.
Previous Excursion Cases
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented a family after a mother and daughter bought a parasailing excursion while aboard a cruise ship. What should have been a thrilling adventure shared between the two turned into a nightmare while the two were up in the air. A malfunction with the excursion equipment caused them to fall rapidly toward the water. Tragically, the mother did not survive, and her daughter was left with a traumatic brain injury. The case was resolved with a combined settlement of $7.25 million for the families.
In another cruise ship excursion case, Leesfield & Partners recovered nearly $3 million for the tragic death of our client’s adult son. In that case, the young man was traveling with his family and ventured out on a cruise-sanctioned bus excursion. When the bus was involved in a crash, our client’s son was ejected and suffered fatal injuries, a devastating loss for the family.
A rollover ATV crash on a shore excursion caused serious injuries to multiple passengers. Leesfield & Partners settled the case for over $1.2 million.
Our 68-year-old client sustained severe injuries, including a fractured femur, when thrown off a “banana boat” during a cruise’s water sport excursion. The firm secured a $600,000 settlement in that case.
And injuries don’t just occur when passengers disembark from the ship. Leesfield & Partners has handled a wide array of onboard injuries that has resulted in long-lasting and painful injuries to our clients.
If you were involved in a cruise ship accident, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 305-854-4900 to see if you may be eligible for compensation.