Articles Tagged with Bahamas

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Basking in the sun or heading to a cholesterol-raising buffet for the fourth time in a single morning, no one thinks about the dangers aboard cruise ships. Statistics show, however, that cruises are riddled with all kinds of hazards. From sexual assaults to falls resulting in broken bones or requiring surgery, Leesfield & Partners has represented just about every injury aboard these massive holiday vessels. 

When stories are spread in the media about cruise medical care and its often devastating consequences, Leesfield & Partners attorneys know that it is unfortunately not all that uncommon. Some people simply do not receive the care they require while others are left to suffer from illnesses or injuries because a cruise doctor refuses to evacuate them. In some cases, cruise ships will abandon a sick passenger in a foreign country to continue on its journey with the other passengers. This is much like the case of an elderly passenger represented by the law firm who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. This type of stroke, according to the National Institute of Health, is a bleeding in the brain caused by a ruptured blood vessel. The passenger was able to disembark from the ship in the Bahamas for emergency transfer back to Broward County, Florida. The cruise line never verified that the airport would be open and the woman was left to wait at the closed airport where she died waiting to be transferred.  

Fortunately for a grandmother heading to the Bahamas on a Carnival Cruise Ship, the outcome was very different. 

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A family cruise turned tragic when a parasailing excursion went awfully wrong, taking the life of a mother and wife. During the cruise, the mother and daughter purchased a shore excursion offered aboard the cruise ship, a parasail excursion which would take place after the ship docked at one of its scheduled stops.

After the parasail operators sent mom and daughter up in the sky, the rope broke off due to heavy winds and dangerous weather conditions. This resulted in the two passengers to plummet into the water at a very high rate of speed. The force of the impact caused traumatic injuries to daughter and mom sustained fatal injuries.

Leesfield & Partners filed suit against the carrier and the tour operator. The cruise carrier argued that the tour operator was an independent contractor and that the responsibility of the cruise line could not and was not engaged. Ultimately, after several months of litigation, our maritime law attorneys secured a $7.25 million settlement on behalf of the family and daughter.

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We recently reported on two incidents occurring only days apart where cruise passengers had fallen and died as a result of their injuries.

catacombsl-005005706019.jpgThe first incident saw the death of Barbara Wood on the Liberty of the Seas, owned and operated Royal Caribbean Cruises. The investigators and witnesses to the tragedy told the media that Barbara Wood was leaving the ship’s nightclub, Catacombs, when she fell while going down the club’s stairs. She hit her head on one of the steps and sustained a massive head injury, resulting in her death about an hour later.

Less than 48 hours later, Carnival cruise passenger, Walter Bouknight, fell down two floors after falling off a platform in the atrium of the Carnival Fantasy. Passengers who witnessed the events have since reported that alcohol may have been in play. The young man may have been gambling in the ship’s casino a few moments prior to his fall and may have been drinking to the point of intoxication.

In both instances, alcohol consumption and intoxication may have been the main contributing factor to explain these incidents. If there is evidence that these passengers had consumed alcohol prior to their fall, and that the amount of alcohol in their system rendered them intoxicated, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises respectively could face a lawsuit for having over-served alcohol to these passengers.

Cruise Lines can be held liable for over-serving alcohol to cruise passengers
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals decided in a landmark case in 2004, that cruise lines can be held liable for over-serving their passengers to the point of intoxication if they sustain injuries caused by their alcohol-related impairment. In Hall v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Judge Schwartz reversed the lower court’s decision ruling that the defendant cruise line has an established duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of its passengers, a duty couched in general maritime law.

Royal Caribbean had argued that the Court of Appeal should look to Florida’s dram shop act as the governing law to resolve that case and not general maritime principles. Had the Third District Court of Appeal agreed with Royal, it would have severely limited the cruise lines’ liability in future similar cases.

cruisedrinks.jpgThe Florida’s Dram Shop Act enacted as Statute 768.125 provides that [a] person who furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person of lawful drinking age shall not become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such person. The exceptions to Florida’s Dram Shop Act are when a Florida business willfully and unlawfully sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person who is not of lawful drinking age or when it knowingly serves a person habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages.

Consequently, since the Hall decision, cruise passengers have able to bring lawsuits against cruise lines for not only over-serving and essentially intoxicating them while on the ship, but also for intoxicating other passengers who may have become violent towards them as a result of having been served too much alcohol.
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We reported on Monday that a cruise passenger on the Carnival Fantasy had died on Friday while the ship was docked in Nassau, Bahamas. The authorities have since released the identity of the victim. 26-year-old Walter Bouknight from South Carolina fell from one of the platforms of the ship’s atrium and landed two floors below. Witnesses to the incident told the local media that the young man was unresponsive and had probably been killed on impact.

16633226_BG1.jpgThe above photograph was taken a few moments after the incident. Yellow tape is still visible on the platform from which Walter Bouknight fell. Two floors below, near the bottom of the stairs, is where the young man’s body rested, an area blocked off by crewmembers while first responders attempted to revive the passenger.

The Carnival Fantasy was on a 5-day cruise in the Bahamas and has since returned to Charleston, South Carolina. Passengers who were on the cruise when this tragedy occurred have been asked to comment on the events. While some have alleged that Walter had lost money gambling in the ship’s casino before his fall, others have reported that the young man was suicidal.

Several other passengers however have vehemently disagreed with that theory. One outraged passenger insisted on rebutting the theory as untrue. This passenger who knows the father of the deceased commented that alcohol may have been an issue and that whether it was intoxication or the momentum from running towards the railing that caused the young man to fall over the railing, he certainly was not suicidal.
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ship-Fantasy-w630x300.jpgWhile the Cruise Industry is still in the eye of the storm, having to deal with the worst year in terms of public relations amid the tragedy of the Costa Concorda which capsized off the coast of Italy, Carnival’s name remains in the headlines today when we learned that a cruise passenger aboard the Carnival Fantasy died on the ship on Friday.

The early statements released by the authorities in the Bahamas have revealed that a 26-year-old cruise passenger from South Carolina fell to his death while the ship was docked in Nassau, Bahamas. The ship departed from Charleston, South Carolina, on a 5-day cruise in the Bahamas.

As a result of the death of the young american cruise passenger, the authorities and Carnival remained docked in Nassau for one additional day to allow the investigation to proceed. A visit to Freeport was cancelled by Carnival, which released the following statement on Saturday: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and extend our heartfelt condolences to the guest’s family and loved ones

The details of the actual incident that resulted in the cruise passengers’ death are still vague at this early stage of the investigation. The theory that has been conveyed to the media by the Bahamas police supposes that the man, his name has yet to be released to the media, jumped off one of the platforms of the Carnival Fantasy Atrium and fell to his death. He was declared dead at the scene.

Atrium_Lobby_4143.JPG

The Carnival Fantasy Atrium where the incident allegedly took place

Carnival issued another statement relaying the same theory to the media that one of its passenger apparently jumped from one floor to another aboard the ship and fell to his death.

We will learn more of the circumstances of this young man’s death in the days and weeks to come. This new tragedy however could not come at a worst time for Carnival and for the cruise industry as a whole. It is still dealing with daily blows and backlashes from consumers after the horrendous capsizing of the Costa Concorda which has led to 17 deaths and hundreds of passengers injured.
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