QUANT v. CARNIVAL

The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury aboard the Carnival Triumph, a cruise ship owned by Carnival Cruise Lines.

The Defendant cruise line, Carnival Corporation, owns and operates the cruise ship, Carnival Triumph. Carnival Corporation through its employees on the Carnival Triumph failed to maintain its floor and allowed food to remain on a slick, slippery marble floor surface in the Paris Dining Room, near Table 322. The food on the floor caused the surface of the floor to be slick, slippery, and extremely dangerous. Carnival knew or should have known that that particular floor is prone to having liquid and/or food spills because of its functional capacity as a dining room. Further, Carnival should have cleaned up and dried up the food on the slick, slippery marble surface where passengers are allowed to walk. A Carnival waiter pulled our client out of her seat and onto the dance floor and right into the marble tiled floor, where someone had previously spilled food. The actions of the waiter and the food on the floor made the floor slick and dangerous. As a result of Carnival’s negligence, our client slipped and fell, causing serious, debilitating, and permanent injuries. Our client in this case broke her coccyx and sustained other severe spinal injuries, which required surgery and implantation of hardware. Our client may be required to undergo surgery in the future.

GILLILAND v. CARNIVAL

The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury aboard the Carnival Holiday, a cruise ship owned by Carnival Cruise Lines.

On July 17, 2009, Carnival Cruise Lines escorted our client on a guided tour of the kitchen galley. Our client was guided through the galley and through liquid that was present on the floor by Carnival personnel. Carnival knew that water and other liquid substances collect on the floor of the galley, as did members of the Carnival kitchen staff who were present at the time of the guided tour. Yet, Carnival allowed the liquid to exist on the kitchen galley floor without cleaning it up and thereby posing a slipping hazard to passengers, such as our client, who would be escorted through the galley. In fact, on the day and time of the accident, our client was escorted through the galley and the water by Carnival personnel and slipped and fell suffering severe, debilitating, and permanent injuries.

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

After months of concern on the effects of dispersants sprayed in the Gulf of Mexico, the EPA releases their results.

Spraying dispersants on oily water in the Gulf of Mexico to break up the spill does not make the water any more toxic than it was with Louisiana sweet crude alone, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday. Paul Anastas, the agency’s assistant administrator for research and development, said the toxicity of the mix of oil and dispersant was generally in the range of “moderate,” comparable to the effects of the oil. So while the use of toxic chemicals in the gulf has always been recognized as a trade-off of risks, Dr. Anastas said, the agency’s latest research shows that using dispersants to limit the effects of the BP spill was “wise.” The agency’s conclusion was based on a report dated Saturday relaying the results of agency tests on two species, shrimp and inland silverside, he said. The E.P.A. has yet to investigate the health effects of the breakdown products of the dispersant.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.
Primary Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03latest.html

Yesterday, President Obama signed legislation that will improve the safety of passengers on cruise ships.

In response to a series of high-profile assaults and disappearances on cruise ships in recent years, President Obama signed into law Tuesday tougher new rules for reporting crimes at sea, improving ship safety and training ship staff on collecting assault evidence.

The $40-billion cruise line industry has long been condemned by critics who say cruise ships registered in foreign countries have taken advantage of murky lines of jurisdiction to ignore the responsibility for misdeeds that occur on ships in international waters.

The bill, written by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui of Sacramento, requires cruise lines to install peepholes on passenger stateroom doors and crew members’ quarters as well as add on-deck surveillance cameras, among other safety improvements.

The law, which takes effect in 18 months, also mandates cruise personnel to contact both the FBI and the Coast Guard as soon as passengers report such serious crimes as homicides, suspicious deaths, missing U.S. nationals, kidnappings or assaults. The law also requires ships to employ a “trained forensic sexual assault specialist” and carry rape evidence kits and anti-retroviral medication.

Cruise lines that fail to comply may be denied entry into U.S. ports and face civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation and criminal penalties of as much as $250,000 and one year’s imprisonment.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.

Primary Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cruise-ships-20100728,0,7753898.story

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

Government officials say the oil well may be finally sealed once and for all this week.

The government’s oil spill chief, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said in Washington on Monday that efforts to solidly seal BP’s busted deep-sea well are set to begin in a week. Allen said the so-called “static kill” — in which mud and cement are pumped into the top of the well — should start Aug. 2. Because the well is now capped, that effort will be more controlled than a previous failed effort, a “top kill” in which mud was shot into the still-spewing well. A relief well is nearly complete for the final stage, a “bottom kill” in which mud and cement are pumped in from deep underground. Allen said that work could begin Aug. 7 and could take days or weeks, depending on how well the static kill works. Delays are possible, though. Tropical storm forecasts last week forced crews to suspend their work about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast for several days. Allen says he’ll order an evacuation again if a similar storm forms.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.
Primary Sources:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i-yfHJzPLDeBIhG5JDEF6VbaPR8QD9H73DD84

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

OIL PLATFORM: DEEPWATER HORIZON

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

After 87 long days, BP may have finally stopped the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil stopped gushing into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, for the first time in nearly three months, as BP began testing the cap atop its stricken well, a critical step toward sealing the well permanently.

Even if the cap permanently stops the oil leak, that doesn’t take away the enormous amount of damage that has already been done.

Over the last long 12 weeks, the government estimates that approximately 175 million gallons of oil have flooded into the Gulf of Mexico. That is roughly equivalent to 16 Exxon Valdez spills, making it many times over the largest oil spill in national history and perhaps the worst environmental crisis we’ve ever confronted. It is hard to understate the scale of environmental destruction the Gulf will continue to experience for months and probably years to come.

From damaged marine and coastal wildlife habitat covering thousands of square miles to crippled fishing and tourism industries that depend on healthy oceans and beaches, BP’s Deepwater Horizon blow out is a disaster in every sense of the word. And that is before we are able to assess the extent of the damage from the underwater oil plumes or the more than two million gallons of chemical dispersants that have been dumped into the Gulf.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.

Primary Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/us/16latest.html
http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/175_Million_Gallons_Later_Progress_in_Stopping_Flow_of_Oil_8326.html

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

Testing continues to determine how to stop the leak in the new containment cap fitted over BP’s oil well on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

BP engineers working to choke the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico found a leak on a line attached to the side of the new well cap and were trying to fix it Thursday before attempting to stop the flow of crude.

BP said Wednesday evening it had isolated the leak and was repairing it before moving forward. It wasn’t clear how it would affect the timing of the operation, or whether oil continued to be slowly closed off into the cap.

The new containment cap remains the best hope yet of stopping the crude from streaming into the water for the first time since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 people.

The testing process began with BP shutting off pipes that were funneling some of the oil to ships on the surface so the full force of the gusher went up into the cap. Then deep-sea robots began slowly closing, one at a time, three openings in the cap that let oil pass through. Ultimately, the flow of crude will be blocked entirely.

All along, engineers were watching pressure readings to learn whether the well is intact. The first two valves shut off like a light switch, while the third works more like a dimmer and takes longer to close off. The leak was found in the line attached to the dimmer switch, but live video footage showed that oil previously spewing from other sources on the cap remained closed off.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.

Primary Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/15/national/main6679992.shtml

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

A crucial test should take place this week to determine whether the oil leak can be stopped once and for all.

With a new, tighter-fitting cap in place on its runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP was expected to begin a pressure test in which valves on the cap would be closed, shutting down the leak for the first time since the rig exploded in late April. But officials announced Tuesday night that the test would be postponed, pending further analysis.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.

Primary Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/us/14latest.html?_r=1

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

BP is preparing to set up another large containment vessel later this week to help collect even more oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP reported Tuesday that its capture systems at the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico collected or burned off 24,980 barrels of oil on Monday. Mark Proegler, a BP spokesman, said preparations continued for hooking a third vessel, the Helix Producer, up to the systems, which would increase the capture capacity from 28,000 barrels a day to 53,000 barrels. Skimming operations across the gulf have scooped up about 23.5 million gallons of oiled water so far.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117

Primary Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/us/07latest.html

DATE OF DISASTER: APRIL 20, 2010

COMPANIES INVOLVED:
- BRITISH PETROLEUM (Leased Deepwater Horizon)
- HALLIBURTON (Oil Services Contractor for Deepwater Horizon)
- TRANSOCEAN LTD. (Owns Deepwater Horizon)

BP gas stations, feeling the backlash from angry consumers boycotting their pumps, are going to get money from BP in order to stay in business.

BP says it will give cash and other help to the owners, operators and suppliers of BP-branded gas stations around the United States. The stations have been struggling because of boycotts prompted by the oil spill. John Kleine of the BP Amoco Marketers Association told The Associated Press on Tuesday that outlets would get cash based on volume, with the rates being higher for those in the Gulf States. They will also have lower credit card fees and get help with national advertising. Some stations have reported sales declines of 10 percent to 40 percent since the April 20 rig explosion.

We are fighting… for the safety and security of you and your family. Making cruise lines, other commercial facilities, and products safer and more secure, one case at a time.

CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.

Primary Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/us/30latest.html