Miami & Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury BLOG

For years we have been talking about the relative frequency of norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. It is estimated that at least several thousand cruise ship passengers contract the illness every year, but the result is usually just a bad case of diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. However there are also cases in which more serious illnesses beak out on cruise ships – as was the case in a recent measles outbreak aboard a European cruise ship.

The Costa Pacifica, a ship owned by the same company which owns the ill-fated Costa Concordia, suffered an outbreak of the measles in recent weeks, which is thought to have sickened at least 40 crew members. Unlike norovirus, which does not usually result in hospitalization, measles can be a very serious illness. In fact, this recent cruise ship outbreak of measles resulted in at least 9 crew members being hospitalized, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) stepping in to help with the situation.

In North American measles has been controlled for decades though an aggressive vaccination program. But cruise companies regularly hire workers from all parts of the world, including many countries where measles vaccinations are not standard. The decision to hire people from diverse parts of the world also has additional risk factors: Though cruise companies can usually find the low-wage workers they desire, thorough background checks are not always available for all cruise worker prospects. This has been blamed for the fact that over 50 percent of cruise ship sexual assaults committed against passengers are committed by crew members. 

Hickey Law Firm, P.A. –Miami Injury Attorneys handle cases of personal injury, cruise ship injury and sexual assault, and other personal injury cases

An elderly passenger on board a British cruise ship was killed when a freakishly powerful wave crashed into the vessel as it sailed through the English Channel on Valentine’s Day. 85-year-old James Swinstead lost his life and several other passengers suffered injuries when water broke windows in one of the restaurants onboard where they were dining.

Now three weeks later, many of the passengers including Mr. Swinstead’s widow are instructing attorneys to look into the possibility that the ship’s safety standards were poorly planned, and that its infrastructure was poorly maintained. A spokesman for a travel litigation team has stated that they are looking into the possibility that more could have, and should have, been done to safeguard passengers against such an incident.

The spokesman also stated that there was a reasonable expectation that specific procedures should have been in place for the weather and sea conditions that caused the incident, but that the investigation is just getting started and it is too early to make any definitive determinations.

The Marco Polo, a cruise ship owned and operated by Cruise and Maritime Voyages, was carrying 735 passengers at the time the wave hit. It was on its way back to port in Tilbury after being on a 42-night voyage. Cruise and Maritime Voyages spokespersons refused to offer any comment on the incident because of the ongoing investigations.

Hickey Law Firm, P.A. –Miami Injury Attorneys handle cases of personal injury, cruise ship injury and sexual assault, and other personal injury cases

Hialeah, Florida police have yet to release any details about an incident that took place last week when a man that officers tased died while in their custody. The department has not released any information about the man other than his name. His mother, Angela Curry of Hialeah, identified him as 27-year-old Treon Johnson and said that she was told by a detective with the Hialeah police that her son has passed away after police found him throwing coconuts at a dog that apparently had bitten him. A Hialeah police department spokesperson gave confirmation regarding the man’s identity but would not reveal any other information about him, about the incident, or about the cause of death.

According to the Hialeah Chief of Police, the investigation is ongoing but he claims he is unable to provide any other information about the incident without clearance from the department’s legal counsel. The Chief of Police, Mr. Sergio Velazquez, hung up on reporters who had phoned to ask about the incident including inquiring about whether or not police had shot him or used a Taser on him. Curry reported that her son was taken to three hospitals and ended up dying at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where the family had gone to visit him.

Curry also reported that she was told by the Hialeah detective that it would be three or four more days before An official police report would be ready. If it is confirmed that John indeed died after police Tased him, it would be the third time in a month that a death in South Florida was caused that way. 

Hickey Law Firm, P.A. –Miami Injury Attorneys handle cases of personal injury, cruise ship injury and sexual assault, and other personal injury cases

Imagine sailing on a luxurious cruise and enjoying everything the ship has to offer - relaxing environment, amazing views, a nice drink or two, nighttime shows. All of a sudden the ship experiences an engine fire which knocks out almost all the power to the ship. The ventilation and the plumbing systems stop working. You are hundreds of miles out to sea, with no hope of getting off of the ship. Because the ship's propulsion system relies on the power system, the ship is hopelessly stranded. What do you think would happen? 

This is exactly the situation the Carnival Triumph experienced about a year ago. The ship remained stranded off the coast of Mexico for days. Passengers had to sleep on the decks because the ventilation system was offline. And they were forced to use the bathroom in buckets because the plumbing was also without power. Now Carnival is facing numerous lawsuits stemming from the ill-fated cruise, including one in which 31 people have joined together to sue the company in civil court. One of the litigants, Kimberly Northom Townsend, says that she is still severely mentally affected by what happened during the multiday ordeal a year ago. 

Townsend and other are currently involved in a fight to make Carnival pay for the negligence which resulted in the so-called "poop cruise." They would like to see Carnival pay monetary damages for their injuries, though they are mostly psychological in nature. But the psychological aspect of the experience should not be discounted. Apparently the ship was in very bad condition after the fire, and actually listed so severely to one side that many passengers though it would tilt over and sink. Now the litigants are in a fight with Carnival to determine the extent of the company’s liability for the ordeal the passengers experienced.

The trial is ongoing and is expected to take several weeks to conclude.