The Reason Costa Threw the Brave Captain Under the Bus

[ducklite]

Check out #8 of the attached Costa passenger contract.

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Support/contract/contract.htm

 

Completely moot. He was an employee and acting within the scope of his employment. Had he scrwed up someone's hair trying to give them a perm, he would have been outside the scope of employment

[ducklite]

Interesting. In the US, a court might say that the Captain was on a frolic (or personal venture) when he hit the rocks.

 

I have a feeling that any court is going to bend over backwards to find Costa responsible.

 

And no jury is going to buy it.

 

I agree taht the courts in any country will be looking at Costa to take a role in the responsibility. In the US they wouldn't even have to look because his gross negligence took place while he was acting within the scope of his employment.

[jules1121]

No law degree here and even less knowledge of the Italian legal system but it seems Costa will still end up under the bus. Indications are that he was in contact with the corporate office right afterwards which still leaves room for better decisions to be made at their level after the impact and before deaths of passengers and crew.

I am betting that it will come out that this is not the first time the chickenhead captain acted like such an idiot and it turns out either the company was turning a blind eye to his actions or was negligent in the management of their employees and their responsiblilty to keep passengers safe. :confused:

[ducklite]

The only way Costa can mitigate its total responsibility for this act of criminal negligence is to convince the legal system that the actions of Captain Schettino were completely unforseeable. They are never going to prevail in this argument. In this day and age I am never going to belive that Costa, and probably Carnival too, know the exact GPS position of all of its ships on every minute of every cruise. From all that I have read and heard this deviation to the east of the island of Giglio was not a one-time event but rather a frequent occurrence. It is probably going to come out that Costa captains did this maneuer frequently and that Costa knew full well that they were doing it. Costa is cooked.

 

Agreed. They put GPS tracking devces on trucks and buses, I can't imagine they don't also have them on ships.

[ducklite]

this guy must have been ratted out by his subordinates pretty quickly for that bus to makes its appearance so fast.

 

I've got one I'd be happy to drop on his head if you think it might help...

[gottagoacruzn]

I do hope that Costa, will make amends by refunding all the money or another cruise, to all those who were onboard.

 

Virginia

[stevedeccaman]

The Italian authorities have decided to drop all charges against its captain as it has been sensationally revealed that the costa concordia didnt have the required number of reverse gears :eek:

 

errr ....this was meant to be a slight joke , which maybe in bad taste :eek:

[Milaandra]

errr ....this was meant to be a slight joke , which maybe in bad taste :eek:

 

When you first posted it I had to look it up...I figured it had to be a joke or it would be splashed all over the internet :p

[ducklite]

I do hope that Costa, will make amends by refunding all the money or another cruise, to all those who were onboard.

 

Virginia

 

They had better do more than that. I think they need to be bending over backwards for those people. The lack of goodwill they are showing right now will come back to bite themsevenfold in lost profits.

[Arwen]

I don't blame them for trying to distance themselves from this irresponsible idiot. But they will have to pay dearly for the damages done to the passengers and the survivors of the passengers who died. The cruise industry will be taking a big enough beating over this event. If they were somehow able to weasel out of responsibility with this clause, can you imagine the public outcry?

 

As for the Captain I wouldn't be surprised if his defense attorneys came up with some mental health defense like he is bipolar / having a manic episode / whatever. Hard to believe someone capable of making so many incredibly poor judgements could have got to this position.

 

I have scratched my head over the actions of Captain Schettino. He is being ripped to shreds in the media and on blogs. Totally understandable since this accident/tragedy should never ever have happened in the first place. I was taught in nursing school that when you make a mistake, that it's critical that the mistake be remedied, dealt with as quickly as possible to prevent danger to the patient. Most times I would care for three to four patients at a time, but a Cruise Captain has responsibility for thousands. I have wondered since this accident and reading about his odd behavior, if Schettino is, indeed, an undiagnosed bipolar. Many people with bipolar believe that they are capable of doing far more than the average person. They do have thoughts of grandiosity. As with any mental illness, bipolar behavior covers a wide spectrum, from mild to very serious. It does not excuse his behavior and the destruction he has left behind.

[halos]

Exactly. The majority of travel agents have insurance that would cover this. They are not really at risk - the insurance company would handle the matter and get the cases dismissed.

I would hope the cases would get dismissed! :eek:

Are people going to sue the airline that took them to the port or the department store where they bought their luggage too??? All are equally insane!

I think any attempt to sue the TA's are insane and unjustified and I can't imagine any lawyer even taking that on because it's totally ridiculous.

[halos]

! (special emoticon for Halos: :rolleyes:)

 

:D

appreciated :D

 

Things would have been so different for him and Costa if he had just realized immediately the gravity of the situation and went into 'hero mode' despite his mistake and handled the emergency like a captain is expected.

 

I agree....sadly. This whole thing is just a mess and this man has to live with it. I can't get that out of my head...I cannot imagine having to live with the mistake and actions afterwards which are just so cowardly...

I would not want to be in that man's head....I just can't imagine...

[cdamion]

:D

appreciated :D

 

 

 

I agree....sadly. This whole thing is just a mess and this man has to live with it. I can't get that out of my head...I cannot imagine having to live with the mistake and actions afterwards which are just so cowardly...

I would not want to be in that man's head....I just can't imagine...

 

Here is my took a few credits of undergrad psychology 20 years ago opinion:

 

The guy had a big ego and was trying to show off for people - probably the young woman that was allegedly on the bridge at the time - maybe he was even at the controls.

 

He hit the reef and at that moment his ego was shattered because he wasn't as infallible as he thought. He was probably in denial that he hit it, and then froze because he couldn't handle the fact that he just destroyed his career for absolutely no reason.

[cdamion]

I would hope the cases would get dismissed! :eek:

Are people going to sue the airline that took them to the port or the department store where they bought their luggage too??? All are equally insane!

I think any attempt to sue the TA's are insane and unjustified and I can't imagine any lawyer even taking that on because it's totally ridiculous.

 

Im not saying that it is correct, but the argument would be something along the lines that the travel agency booked the passenger with Costa when the agency knew or should have known about the line's reckless disregard for safety. The agency had a duty to it's customer to not put it in harm's way. Blah blah blah.

[halos]

Here is my took a few credits of undergrad psychology 20 years ago opinion:

 

The guy had a big ego and was trying to show off for people - probably the young woman that was allegedly on the bridge at the time - maybe he was even at the controls.

 

He hit the reef and at that moment his ego was shattered because he wasn't as infallible as he thought. He was probably in denial that he hit it, and then froze because he couldn't handle the fact that he just destroyed his career for absolutely no reason.

 

I can see that.

I also think the kind of perosnality that would show off, is the same kind to panic in a bad situation....it's all emotional immaturity. (Just a guess, no psych courses under my belt)

[HelloHelloHola]

Check out #8 of the attached Costa passenger contract.

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Support/contract/contract.htm

 

Seems like you hit the nail right on the head. In addition, I was surprised by the quick response. It was only about 2 days after the incident that was he was thrown under the bus. The evidences must be overwhelming and quick to gather.

[jules1121]

"""Schettino was suspended by Costa this morning (1/19/12), according to the company's Milan-based lawyer Marco De Luca.

 

"The Costa Company will present themselves as damaged party in any trial of the ship wreck," De Luca told Ansa. """"

 

( Very bottom of the article) http://abcnews.go.com/News/costa-concordia-investigators-question-mystery-woman/story?id=15393421

 

 

Just my two cents, but I don't see their defense of being a "damaged party" working; way too much evidence they knew about this bad habit of his....

[ghstudio]

Check out #8 of the attached Costa passenger contract.

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Support/contract/contract.htm

 

The Carrier shall not be held vicariously liable for the intentional or negligent acts of any person not employed by the Carrier nor for any intentional or negligent acts of the Carrier’s employees committed while off duty or outside the course and scope or their employment.

[/quote]

 

 

Sorry but he was on duty and as captain, he was acting in the course and scope of his employment

 

This provision does absolutely nothing to shield Costa in this case.

[Taxguy77]

Check out #8 of the attached Costa passenger contract.

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Support/contract/contract.htm

 

Your title: Brave Captain ?:confused:

[erisajd]

It is very safe. I also know I can swim or float longer than I can fly! On the Star Fire, I learned a lot that shocked me like how there was no fire protection on the balconies, the difficulty of fighting balcony fires with all those dividers, and the little details about SOLAS compliance/committment which dispelled my previous assumptions.

 

The balconies are glass and steel - except for the furnishings - once furnishings burn out there is nothing left to burn . . . why would you be worried? They'll just drag a hose in from the hallway or spray you down from 2 levels above . . .

[Reggiefan]

I don't know which entity's law might be applied to determine course and scope of employment and whether the law outside the US on this issue is different from the law in most American states. However, in my state--and probably in most American states--there would not even be a question as to whether the captain was acting in the course and scope of employment.

 

The captain engaging in a prank by pointing a toy gun at a passenger and pulling the trigger, causing the passenger to suffer a heart attack? There then would be a serious issue. The captain navigating the ship too closely to shore? Totally different, regardless of the captain's purpose in charting a somewhat different course.

[FrankNJ]

I don't know which entity's law might be applied to determine course and scope of employment and whether the law outside the US on this issue is different from the law in most American states. However, in my state--and probably in most American states--there would not even be a question as to whether the captain was acting in the course and scope of employment.

 

The captain engaging in a prank by pointing a toy gun at a passenger and pulling the trigger, causing the passenger to suffer a heart attack? There then would be a serious issue. The captain navigating the ship too closely to shore? Totally different, regardless of the captain's purpose in charting a somewhat different course.

 

Too bad he didn't point his toy gun at the coast guard or the caribinieri.

[negc]

The balconies are glass and steel - except for the furnishings - once furnishings burn out there is nothing left to burn . . . why would you be worried? They'll just drag a hose in from the hallway or spray you down from 2 levels above . . .

 

Check the reports on the Star Princess fire and you will find that the fire, rather than burning itself out on the balconies, actually expanded into some of the staterooms where a heck of a lot more flammable materials were present. The glass doors between the balcony and the cabins do little to stop a serious fire, so perhaps concern is warranted.

[scooterpopsnana]

Your title: Brave Captain ?:confused:

 

I question that, also. His picture is certainly not beside the word "brave" in my dictionary.

[ducklite]

Check the reports on the Star Princess fire and you will find that the fire, rather than burning itself out on the balconies, actually expanded into some of the staterooms where a heck of a lot more flammable materials were present. The glass doors between the balcony and the cabins do little to stop a serious fire, so perhaps concern is warranted.

 

And it's not all glass and steel, there's a lot of fiberglass out there as well, and contrary to what many think, fiberglass doesn't take a whole lot to burn.