Carnival sued over St. Thomas death

[lillian marie]

I didn't think the girl was on a CCL excursion, if it was a CCL excursion there could be liability.

[MissRabbit]

I really had no idea St. Thomas was so violent. I should have done some research prior to the cruise but so many people are quite naive about cruising destinations.

 

I agree with those of you who don't feel it's Carnival's fault. The second i step off the ship, if i am not on a Carnival excursion, then i am out of their hands. What i do is no longer their responsibility.

 

Sue the man who killed the daughter. He's the only one responsible in all this. Heck, the taxi driver bears more responsibility for driving her past the cemetary during a gang member's funeral, than Carnival does. (although i'm not suggesting they sue the taxi driver)

 

I will say, though, that the family could find Carnival had a responsibility to inform their passengers of the level of danger and crime in St. Thomas. From the reports that followed after the shooting, it seems crime has been a major problem for quite some time in St. Thomas, especially the Coki Point area. If Carnival didn't explain this or inform the passengers of the crime potential, i can see how this case might not get thrown out.

 

All that being said, i really think this is a family lashing out in their grief at anyone. Why not at the one that will give them the most closure (aka money)? I think it's stupid. I hope the cruise line doesn't settle cause that just opens the door for future lawsuits.

[dst]

The Mexican ports have not had anything even remotely comparable to what happened in St. Thomas, Jamaica or Costa Rica to cruise passsengers. Yet they pull away from the Mexican ports. What a joke:rolleyes:

 

 

Agree but my point was a risk of liability - they pulled out of these ports due to the "threat" or "instability" of the area..........to avoid any liability of something happening.

[MissRabbit]

I do believe however, that they family will be offered a sum of money to close the issue. It is cheaper in the long run for companies to settle than spend exorbitant amounts of money/resources on fighting a claim.

 

which is the whole reason frivolous lawsuits exist. Man i wish there was a frivolous lawsuit tax. Not only does it get thrown out of court, but you have to pay a fee for time wasted.

[jenwales]

So, if you fly into someplace dangerous (say St. Thomas, the middle east, etc.), does the airline have an obligation to tell you that it's dangerous and you shouldn't go there? If they fail to do so, are they liable if something happens to you? Of course not.

 

Isn't the cruise merely the transportation?

[nosmothj]

"St. Thomas has certainly gotten rougher over the years, but I still feel safer walking around there than I do say in MoBay or Belize or even Nassau......when I was in Nassau in February, our private tour guide was telling us how much crime had increased since the earthquack in Haiti....."

 

St Thomas is well known as one of the top if not top crime locals in the Carebbean. The drug crime and abundence of guns is far worse then almost any other location.

[MissDiva1]

So, if you fly into someplace dangerous (say St. Thomas, the middle east, etc.), does the airline have an obligation to tell you that it's dangerous and you shouldn't go there? If they fail to do so, are they liable if something happens to you? Of course not.

 

Isn't the cruise merely the transportation?

 

Only for us bus riders:p

[Crystalbast]

The family was not on a ship sponsored excurstion, they went off on there own. Carnival is in no way responisble for the girl's death.

[Healed32]

Scum will find lowlife scum attorneys to sue over anything. It's the way of our country these days.

 

I think this is a horrible statement!!!!!! This family lost a daughter.

[sharecruises]

I 100% agree with you. They lost their daughter and yes Carnival is to a certain extent responsible because they were on an excursion through the cruise line if I remember correctly. And yes they will have their insurance company pay for this.

 

Nothing against the cruise line, but this family lost a child and they do need to be compensated by the cruise line and the killer. Remember they had to pay for burial of their CHILD never mind the grief they suffer daily.

 

 

UH uh....they were on a private excursion

 

 

This is a tragedy...but suing Carnival is ridiculous. I hope the case is thrown out. It would be a bad precedent IMHO.

[smc0320]

So on top of suffering the loss of a child they should also suffer the cost of an expensive burial??????

 

Come on now get real!

don't they have insurance for that??

 

I don't want to seem insensitive, because this is a terrible RANDOM tragedy...why is the cruiseline at fault? why not the taxi driver?

[Bigbob75]

Que the drum major

Marching band and cheerleaders

 

I say wait for the facts

[salty dingo]

This is very sad, but Carnival is in no way responsible. The lawsuit should be dismissed, and I hope it is! I REALLY hope Carnival won't choose to settle, as this could encourage more of this sort of awful lawsuits.

[Nezmo]

Post a review and get ten replies. Post something against Carnival and get a mega-thread. LOL

 

Hey, it's all been said I guess but personally I THINK this suit may be frivolous. Then again, I know absolutely none of the details so I am not qualified to comment really. I'd venture to say no one else not privy to the case is either.

 

I am very sad about the loss of life. THAT is what got to me about this story.

[sharecruises]

Just read another sad story : a tourist from a cruise ship mugged in Naples Italy....all over a rolex, died from his injuries. Ironically he also was from Puerto Rico.

 

Yes it is sad ...BUT...the cruiseline/s should not be held accountable. Unless they just go out to sea and go around in circles there will be risk at every port. I am sure tourists get killed in Puerto Rico too...some tourists get killed in Florida. And tragedies and crime is everywhere.

 

I fail to see how any cruiseline is responsible for things that happen on land on a NON cruise excursion or just sightseeing. Simply illogical. There are many tragedies : look at the horrible tornadoes here in US, and the Earthquake in Japan....of course Carnival is not responsible for those tragedies but using the faulty knee jerk "logic" (ill-logic) of some here I guess people could sue Carnival for damages ???

[MissDiva1]

Nobody knows anything about said lawsuit....but they know everything about it.........

[Cruzaholic41]

DH is a lawyer - a criminal lawyer, not civil. However he just made a good point to me. How often on cruises does the ship give adequate information about what areas of a port to avoid? How often do you see literature saying stay away from this neighborhood or that place. They probably can't do it because it could bring a lawsuit from vendors of those bad areas, but in the court of civil tort, the family of this man could probably make an argument they weren't properly warned of what areas to avoid and of the local crime rate. Often you are just dumped off in a place with no knowledge of what's going on there.

 

I'm not saying I agree with the lawsuit, and yes, personal safety is the person's responsibility, but they may actually have a legitimate claim here.

[H82seaUgo]

DH is a lawyer - a criminal lawyer, not civil. However he just made a good point to me. How often on cruises does the ship give adequate information about what areas of a port to avoid? How often do you see literature saying stay away from this neighborhood or that place. They probably can't do it because it could bring a lawsuit from vendors of those bad areas, but in the court of civil tort, the family of this man could probably make an argument they weren't properly warned of what areas to avoid and of the local crime rate. Often you are just dumped off in a place with no knowledge of what's going on there.

 

I'm not saying I agree with the lawsuit, and yes, personal safety is the person's responsibility, but they may actually have a legitimate claim here.

 

how many people go to the shore talks anymore?

[Cruzaholic41]

how many people go to the shore talks anymore?

 

That's exactly my point. An argument can be made the info is not disseminated properly.

 

And even with the shore talks, they are very careful what to say. They rarely tell you about crime rates and specific bad neighborhoods.

[tef43]

DH is a lawyer - a criminal lawyer, not civil. However he just made a good point to me. How often on cruises does the ship give adequate information about what areas of a port to avoid? How often do you see literature saying stay away from this neighborhood or that place. They probably can't do it because it could bring a lawsuit from vendors of those bad areas, but in the court of civil tort, the family of this man could probably make an argument they weren't properly warned of what areas to avoid and of the local crime rate. Often you are just dumped off in a place with no knowledge of what's going on there.

 

I'm not saying I agree with the lawsuit, and yes, personal safety is the person's responsibility, but they may actually have a legitimate claim here.

Plaintiff's counsel will attempt to assert that cruise lines have legal duty to warn of dangers in ports where they disembark passengers. I'm not certain that there is case law precedent to support that. In fact, I have seen court decisions that seem to say the exact opposite.

 

Why should a cruise line be held to a higher standard than, say, an airline? Does Delta warn you that Detroit is a scary place when you fly there? :confused:

[Cruzaholic41]

Plaintiff's counsel will attempt to assert that cruise lines have legal duty to warn of dangers in ports where they disembark passengers. I'm not certain that there is case law precedent to support that. In fact, I have seen court decisions that seem to say the exact opposite.

 

Why should a cruise line be held to a higher standard than, say, an airline? Does Delta warn you that Detroit is a scary place when you fly there? :confused:

 

That's a good point, but there is a difference between cruise passengers and airplane passengers. Airplanes are transportation. Cruise ships are part of the vacation. People do not just aimlessly wander off an airplane, walk around the area of the airport, then wander back to the plane.

[tef43]

That's a good point, but there is a difference between cruise passengers and airplane passengers. Airplanes are transportation. Cruise ships are part of the vacation. People do not just aimlessly wander off an airplane, walk around the area of the airport, then wander back to the plane.

Should cruise lines be held to a higher standard than, say, a hotel? The same attorney who claims that the cruise lines have such a duty, also states that hotels have no such responsibility. Seems to be a double standard, and one that can easily be challenged at trial.

 

This is, pure plain and simple, a blatant attempt at a money grab.

[H82seaUgo]

That's exactly my point. An argument can be made the info is not disseminated properly.

 

And even with the shore talks, they are very careful what to say. They rarely tell you about crime rates and specific bad neighborhoods.

 

not even your point of embarkation, in 3rd world countries such a miami, los angeles, new york, or san juan.

 

ultimately, i don't rely on cruiselines on how to dress, or port safety. i wouldn't expect that from an airline or a hotel either.

[Cruzaholic41]

Should cruise lines be held to a higher standard than, say, a hotel? The same attorney who claims that the cruise lines have such a duty, also states that hotels have no such responsibility. Seems to be a double standard, and one that can easily be challenged at trial.

 

This is, pure plain and simple, a blatant attempt at a money grab.

 

I'm sure you're right, but they only need to tip the scale 1% to win a civil case. In a civil case, opinion is King and with the right jury, the cruise line could already be at a disadvantage.

[H82seaUgo]

That's a good point, but there is a difference between cruise passengers and airplane passengers. Airplanes are transportation. Cruise ships are part of the vacation. People do not just aimlessly wander off an airplane, walk around the area of the airport, then wander back to the plane.

 

no? i had a 4 hour layover in st. louis, so i decided to hop on a train from the airport to go see and film the arch. when i got off the train closest to the arch, i immediately knew i was in the "bad" section of town. i probably survived being 6'3" and 250 lbs.

 

the airline never warned me :rolleyes