A couple who told reporters with ABC News that they dreamed of traveling the world on their catamaran tell the shocking story of how they were saved by a cruise ship along their journey.
Helena Franczak and Dustin Leonard, two crew members and their three dogs were on the catamaran when it was damaged at sea in the South Pacific. The couple was heading to Fiji when the weather took a turn for the worst, taking the vessel’s mast and leaving them stranded over 170 nautical miles from New Caledonia, a French territory made up of dozens of islands in the South Pacific.
While stranded, they noticed a cruise ship in the distance and shot off a flare to get the attention of the ship’s crew. The daring rescue took extreme caution and skill as “it takes a little mistake … and you may sink them,” the ship’s captain told reporters.
Everyone on board, including the furry friends, were pulled from the damaged vessel and brought aboard the cruise.
A similar incident involving a cruise ship happened in Tampa when a couple and their two dogs were left clinging to a buoy in January. In that case, a cruise ship caused a wake that made their boat crash and sink. Luckily, the couple and their pet were able to swim to the buoy and wait for rescue.
In St. Augustine, two boaters and their dog were left clinging to the hull of a sinking boat after rough waters caused the vessel to overturn. No injuries were reported in that incident.
Leesfield & Partners
While daring, this rescue is part of the legal duties of a cruise ship while at sea, unless it would place the ship and its passengers in serious danger. When spotting someone in distress at sea, cruise ships must stop and render aid. This obligation comes from multiple binding international conventions — such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — and national laws.
The attorneys at Leesfield & Partners have decades of experience with these such laws through years of personal injury litigation. Our skilled attorneys have represented clients through terrible injuries from slip and falls on hazardous cruise ship decks, the negligence of inadequately trained medical personnel, criminal activity aboard ships and more. Our attorneys consistently work to achieve the best possible outcome in every case for clients who have suffered life-changing injuries and for families who have suffered irreparable losses.
One such family that was represented by Leesfield & partners is that of a mother and daughter who booked a parasailing adventure on their cruise ship. While out on the excursion, and suspended hundreds of feet in the air, a piece of equipment snapped and sent the two careening to the water.
The mother was killed and her daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury. The cruise ship attempted to distance itself from the excursion operators and claimed that they were an independent contractor, Leesfield & Partners successfully proved that they were not since the excursion was marketed and purchased aboard the ship.
Our attorneys settled the case for $7.25 million.
In an ongoing case, Partner Justin B. Shapiro is representing a woman who was injured on a cruise ship excursion. In that case, the woman purchased a jet ski excursion marketed as one for beginners and was severely injured when the tour guide leading the group crashed into her from behind while attempting to pass her on the water.
Mr. Shapiro has handled dozens of devastating jet ski cases out of Florida over the years. For more information about Leesfield & Partners’ jet ski cases, click here.
Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II is handling an ongoing case of a woman who was further injured by crew members after returning to her cruise from shore. The woman tripped and fell on an uneven bridge on shore, seriously injured her left ankle, knee, arm and elbow, leaving her in a great deal of pain. She was able to walk back to the tender boat where she informed the crew she would need to see the ship’s physician.
No action was taken to ensure that medical personnel would be there to meet her when she arrived. She disembarked without assistance and, while walking up the gangway, paused to gather herself while in extreme pain. She told the crew she needed immediate medical attention. The crew, again, failed to provide a wheelchair or another means of transport to the infirmary. While still on the gangway, crew members approached our client and grabbed her arm. She fell to the floor in agony and was finally given a wheelchair and 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.
Previous Cases
The firm represented a family whose son, a special needs man, died following a crash on a cruise ship excursion. In that case, the bus careened off a cliff on a cruise-sponsored shore excursion. The son was ejected and died in front of his family.
The firm settled the case for $2,990,000.
A confidential settlement was obtained for the family of a young girl who wandered off while on a cruise ship and, when she leaned over a poorly-designed ship railing, fell to her death.
Leesfield & Partners secured a multi-million-dollar recovery for a woman who was raped by a crew member. In that case, the crew member abused his employee status and used a keycard to gain access into her room where he launched the violent attack.
A 9-year-old suffered catastrophic brain injuries while playing basketball on a cruise ship and hit his head. The firm obtained a $2.5 million recovery for the boy in that case.
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.
One man, 62, suffered a terrible head injury while playing pickleball aboard a ship. The firm obtained a $500,000 settlement in that case.
One client suffered tremendously after a fall on a cruise ship’s public restroom caused a severe knee injury. Leesfield & Partners settled the case for $425,000.
Another slip and fall recovery totaled $350,000 for a client who was injured due to an unmarked step in a restaurant aboard a cruise ship.