Lawsuit Filed By Family of Mariner Overboard

[Cuizer2]

Technically you are right, but the suit is brought by the estate for "wrongful death" which means they seek to recover for the loss of Bozo's life. So in one sense it is Bozo who is suing...He just won't be here to spend the booty. LL

 

That is not what the article says ...

 

The mother of a man who fell off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last year and was never found has filed suit against the cruise line.

 

Susan DiPiero filed the wrongful-death suit Monday in Miami-Dade County, Fla., on behalf of the estate of 21-year-old Daniel DiPiero, his father, Ronald DiPiero, and his three sisters.

 

No matter how you look at it, "Bozo" did not file the law suit.

[SherriZ366]

Okay, this is so hearsay but....

We were in the rental car shuttle with a couple. This couple had some dinner table mates, one of whom was questioned by the FBI becausde she mentioned that she had seen Daniel DiPiero sleeping on the deck the previous night.

 

They (dont know exactly who they are) showed this woman the tape they have of Daniel falling overboard. The woman said that he climbed a rung of the railing and looked as if he was puking over the side of the ship. Then , all of a sudden, it looked like he "slumped over" (passed out?) and then he fell overboard.

 

The dinner companiopn was quite miffed because she was questioned for a considerable amount of time and, as a result, unable to go into St. Thomas. And all she "knew" was that she had seen the boy sleeping on the deck!

That comportes with the theories I had heard about how he fell overboard. I don't blame her for being miffed that she missed St. Thomas -- I would have been also especially as all she saw was him sleeping in a deck chair.

 

And to Iamthesea -- it probably was rough out. Have been on Mariner two times and they sail out fairly fast over the Florida straits which is a rough area -- soemtimes this is the roughest part of the cruise.

[SherriZ366]

If clumsy drunks don't stop falling over railings, they're going to put "jail bars" from floor to ceiling so nobody will fit between them. :eek:

Or glassing in balconies. Sitting on the balcony during the day or at night is one of my favorite things to do on a cruise.

[Lightsluvr]

That is not what the article says ...

 

The mother of a man who fell off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last year and was never found has filed suit against the cruise line.

 

Susan DiPiero filed the wrongful-death suit Monday in Miami-Dade County, Fla., on behalf of the estate of 21-year-old Daniel DiPiero, his father, Ronald DiPiero, and his three sisters.

 

No matter how you look at it, "Bozo" did not file the law suit.

 

Of course Bozo did not rise from his watery grave to file the lawsuit. But his estate did bring the action. Look at my comment; I said he would not be here to spend the booty. Look up the legal definition of wrongful death. One of the measure of damages (in most jurisdictions) is for hedonic damages, or loss of value of life. For legal purposes, the estate is Bozo in this lawsuit. The heirs want to recover for the value that Bozo would put on the loss of his life - and how do they do that? Empanel a jury of 12 licensed drivers.

 

LL

[Cuizer2]

Of course Bozo did not rise from his watery grave to file the lawsuit. But his estate did bring the action. Look at my comment; I said he would not be here to spend the booty. Look up the legal definition of wrongful death. One of the measure of damages (in most jurisdictions) is for hedonic damages, or loss of value of life. For legal purposes, the estate is Bozo in this lawsuit. The heirs want to recover for the value that Bozo would put on the loss of his life - and how do they do that? Empanel a jury of 12 licensed drivers.

 

LL

 

Mom, Dad and Bozo's sisters are suing to collect for their loss. They are suing to collect money, plain and simple. I take it that there is not a Mrs. Bozo. So, going back to the George Smith litigation, the new Ms. Smith was bought off by RCI, and the rest of the Smith gang are SOL. I'm fairly certain that is what is going to happen here.

 

What is driving this lawsuit is not Bozo's estate, but rather Mom & Dad Bozo and Bozo's sisters. Given that this time RCI has a tape showing what happened, I doubt that they are going to settle. But who knows, if the Bozo clan can get enough publicity RCI might try to buy its peace. However, given that this is clearly Bozo's fault, most likely it is not going to generate much negative publicity and it is not likely that the Bozo clan will collect anything.

 

Now, back to your original implication that Bozo filed this lawsuit. I still disagree with you. If the tape had shown two security guards throwing him over, and the estate was the first to file the lawsuit, then I would agree with you that Bozo was the one who filed the suit. But in this case Bozo is the one at fault and it is the family making up the different theories as to why big bad RCI is responsible for Bozo's death. I don't think Bozo or his estate is the driving force behind this lawsuit. I think the family is. Therefore, I disagree with you that Bozo filed this lawsuit.

 

No matter what you think of the lawsuit, the person who fell overboard was drunk. So we can assume he was not in the best frame of mind. If he was here today, and if he was sober, he might agree that what he did was wrong. We don't know what he would say, and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. The family, however, comes across as gold diggers to me. They are hoping to hit the lottery. I don't think it is going to happen. Nonetheless, while I don't like the lawsuit, I am not willing to blame Bozo for it. He had no say in filing it. Just because he did something stupid does not mean he is responsible for his family doing something else that is less than honorable (in my opinion).

[piercetc4]

i didn't mean to blame bozo for the lawsuit- i blame bozo for getting so drunk that he fell overboard and died which caused the lawsuit- if this were my child that did this..............there would be no lawsuit- i would be devastated for the rest of my life but would not blame rci -rci didn't put a gun to the boys head and say drink, drink, drink, drink.............more more more more til he ended up at the end of the story lost at sea...........:(

sorry if i did not word my thought correctly to get the point across- i have trouble with that process at times.............lol ( not trying to be mean , just trying to correct my words to make the point? ) :)

[Shanafan]

Arg parents these days!!!! Come on your little boy was 21 - YOU forgot to tell him HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS OWN ACTIONS NOW! Being an adult means I no longer require a babysitter. If you thought he needed a babysitter Dad? Why was he out and about drinking with out you?

 

I hope the judge throws this out because it is time ADULTS (by the way little Miss Hilton included) learn to act as such and take responsibility.

 

By the way now you wonder why RCCL and others have tightened down on what we as ADULTS can bring an consume - this is it!! Stupid, immature kids who want to be adults.

 

 

Sorry this kind of thing just gets my knickers in a knot because of it all adults are thrown into a single pot and we lose our adults rights in the process...

Amen......and thank you

[Shanafan]

they never found the body.....what funeral?

Sorry.......had no idea. Regardless it is a a horrible experience for a family to go through.....but to sue because it happened? It is one thing if some drunken a-hole blows through a red light and kills a family member...sue his sorry butt ..but .......I think we all need to take responsiblitlity for our own actions. If I eat a box of ding dongs and gain a butt load of weight.....should I be held accountable or a company like Hostess???

[Shanafan]

It seems to me we have an epidemic of that going on. As mentioned, poor Paris, everything happens to her and with a mother like she has, it's no wonder she feels no responsibility.

 

If you want to be treated as an adult, accept responsibility for your actions. You did it, you pay the consequences.

 

Off my soapbox--at least for now.

 

Katie

Why the heck is she driving when she could pay someone to sit in her car while she parties and drive her home????? DUH

[willysgrandma]

At Cruise 3 Sixty, we were told by an RCCL rep that this is precisely why RCCL is now being very strict about not allowing alcohol being smuggled onboard.

[Shanafan]

Just a point of clarification and enlightenment.

 

The $15,000 is not necessarily what they are looking for as a recovery. It is a jurisdictional limit that the attorneys use to get into a certain court. If you read the actual lawsuit it will say something like"in an amount not less than $15,000."

I guess it could be much more.

[Shanafan]

I got a hangnail when I sailed on the Brilliance in January....Can I sue?:rolleyes:

What are you waiting for????? Of course you can!

[Shanafan]

"His body has not been found. The Coast Guard, which began searching for him Tuesday morning, called off the search at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

 

A Coast Guard spokesman said the Guard searched more than 900 miles by water and air. "

 

The Coast Guard should bill and sue the family for the cost of the search.

 

DON

Enough said.

[yosh12]

The suit says the cruise line didn't warn him that it was dangerous to be on an exterior deck near the railing at night while the ship was at sea.

 

Oh gimme a break. If he was that incompetent his parents shouldn't have let him out the house alone, let alone let him go on vacation. And the cruise line did say that he wasn't allowed to bring alcohol onboard either, but he managed to figure out a way to break that rule. And that's ok!

 

I say RCCL should sue the family. As should all the passengers whose cruise was interrupted by this horrible incident.

[Lightsluvr]

Mom, Dad and Bozo's sisters are suing to collect for their loss. They are suing to collect money, plain and simple. I take it that there is not a Mrs. Bozo. So, going back to the George Smith litigation, the new Ms. Smith was bought off by RCI, and the rest of the Smith gang are SOL. I'm fairly certain that is what is going to happen here.

 

What is driving this lawsuit is not Bozo's estate, but rather Mom & Dad Bozo and Bozo's sisters. Given that this time RCI has a tape showing what happened, I doubt that they are going to settle. But who knows, if the Bozo clan can get enough publicity RCI might try to buy its peace. However, given that this is clearly Bozo's fault, most likely it is not going to generate much negative publicity and it is not likely that the Bozo clan will collect anything.

 

Now, back to your original implication that Bozo filed this lawsuit. I still disagree with you. If the tape had shown two security guards throwing him over, and the estate was the first to file the lawsuit, then I would agree with you that Bozo was the one who filed the suit. But in this case Bozo is the one at fault and it is the family making up the different theories as to why big bad RCI is responsible for Bozo's death. I don't think Bozo or his estate is the driving force behind this lawsuit. I think the family is. Therefore, I disagree with you that Bozo filed this lawsuit.

 

No matter what you think of the lawsuit, the person who fell overboard was drunk. So we can assume he was not in the best frame of mind. If he was here today, and if he was sober, he might agree that what he did was wrong. We don't know what he would say, and I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. The family, however, comes across as gold diggers to me. They are hoping to hit the lottery. I don't think it is going to happen. Nonetheless, while I don't like the lawsuit, I am not willing to blame Bozo for it. He had no say in filing it. Just because he did something stupid does not mean he is responsible for his family doing something else that is less than honorable (in my opinion).

 

Other than our semantic difference in the legal status of an estate with respect to a wrongful death case, I think you are spot on with your analysis of the DiPiero case. It's all about the money...They accuse RCI of over-serving him, but the video of him drinking (smuggled) booze with his buddies in their cabin will probably quash that claim. I hope RCI gets some backbone and defends this one to the hilt...But that's just me...

 

LL

[sas80]

I would think that this lawsuit has more to do with not wanting to accept the fact that their son was ultimately 100% responsible for his own death.

 

Death causes suffering for the living. Dealing with those intense feelings of loss and not wanting to blame the person who is dead only prolongs the experience.

 

It's similar to suicides where everyone runs around pointing fingers at everyone else, and themselves, and assigns blame and responsibility to everoyne except the person who decided to take their life....

 

Their lawsuit is probably a way to try dealing with their feelings of loss. They think if they can assign blame to RCCL they will feel "better".

 

The sad reality is, even if they ARE awarded a settlement, even if RCCL does say "we were at fault" (they wont, but hypothetically speaking) the family will still walk away with the same empty feelings, and the same sense of loss, but nothing will ultimately change except their bank account.

 

And then they will have blood money sitting there, staring them in the face, and then they will have to deal with the feelling that they traded their son for money.....

 

It's a no win situation.

[nimbex1970]

I for 1, am sick & tired of other peoples stupid, careless, thoughtless behavior inconveniencing never mind costing numerous other people.. U commit the 'crime' u (not I) should do the 'time'!!

 

At a minimum that person or his family sld be 'debtors' unless the rescue debts are paid...or perhaps better - Each cruiser shld have 'rescue' insurance -- that wld solve the problem just make the premiums high enough to get the 'nuts' attention..and give a nice rebate to those who do not use it...

 

Enough already!!

 

I have to disagree with you here. I come from a family of IDIOTS. Being a law abiding hard working nurse and mom of 3.... why should I pay... ME for an inebriated dumb arse... husband, brother, cousin... how far out are we going..... What if I don't have the money? take a lien on the house? Sue me? I loose the house, apply for social services... you're paying for it then anyway.

 

Just being devils advocate, but I cannot be held responsible for another adult of legal age, unless I sign a contract stating so. Yours is not the solution. Anyone look through your own family tree and imagine that you're responsible financially for that crazy crooked branch. Familys with wealth would pay far more than the average joe, they'd lobby,stop the insanity and win. "nuf said.

[nimbex1970]

I would think that this lawsuit has more to do with not wanting to accept the fact that their son was ultimately 100% responsible for his own death.

 

Death causes suffering for the living. Dealing with those intense feelings of loss and not wanting to blame the person who is dead only prolongs the experience.

 

It's similar to suicides where everyone runs around pointing fingers at everyone else, and themselves, and assigns blame and responsibility to everoyne except the person who decided to take their life....

 

Their lawsuit is probably a way to try dealing with their feelings of loss. They think if they can assign blame to RCCL they will feel "better".

 

The sad reality is, even if they ARE awarded a settlement, even if RCCL does say "we were at fault" (they wont, but hypothetically speaking) the family will still walk away with the same empty feelings, and the same sense of loss, but nothing will ultimately change except their bank account.

 

And then they will have blood money sitting there, staring them in the face, and then they will have to deal with the feelling that they traded their son for money.....

 

It's a no win situation.

 

I agree 100% Assigning $$ will not help the family move to the "WHY" stage of grief. On top of it, it's embarirssing in theory to be a survivor of someone who died like this.... so it's natural to slink into the "its not his fault"..... HELLO..... it is, but it IS still tragic and terrible and we're all sorry for the family loss and grieving..... but it IS what it IS. The survivors energy would be better placed talking in schools about binge drinking and the consequences... than placing anger at the ship where the "departed" made some bad choices with VERY bad outcomes

 

carol

[FlyingPhotog]

What are you waiting for????? Of course you can!

 

What about suing for skin cancer medical bills plus "pain and mental anguish" from the sunburn you got while on board? The cruise line failed to provide adequate sun protection. It's my right to be outside.

This could be a gold mine! :rolleyes:

[mdmourges]

I think that it is not so much the parents fault as it is the way the legal system is set up in this country. Why wouldn't someone sue in such a tragic situation, given the limit to downside (you own legal fees and maybe not even that if it is a contingent case)? This is how the system works. Not good. I am not upset at the parents actions but will be upset if a judge or jury of their peers does not take into consideration the poor choices made by the young man and rewards the plaintiffs (parents/estate of the young man) with something significant.

 

Mark

[Cuizer2]

I would think that this lawsuit has more to do with not wanting to accept the fact that their son was ultimately 100% responsible for his own death.

 

Death causes suffering for the living. Dealing with those intense feelings of loss and not wanting to blame the person who is dead only prolongs the experience.

 

It's similar to suicides where everyone runs around pointing fingers at everyone else, and themselves, and assigns blame and responsibility to everoyne except the person who decided to take their life....

 

Their lawsuit is probably a way to try dealing with their feelings of loss. They think if they can assign blame to RCCL they will feel "better".

 

The sad reality is, even if they ARE awarded a settlement, even if RCCL does say "we were at fault" (they wont, but hypothetically speaking) the family will still walk away with the same empty feelings, and the same sense of loss, but nothing will ultimately change except their bank account.

 

And then they will have blood money sitting there, staring them in the face, and then they will have to deal with the feelling that they traded their son for money.....

 

It's a no win situation.

 

Oh, it gets worse. I work in civil law and many a defense lawyer has had to swallow hard and go in and tear a plaintiff apart. You would be amazed at how many lawsuits settle after depositions make it clear what will happen in court. It is one thing to file a bunch of papers alleging different theories of liability. It is another thing to sit there and try to justify these theories.

 

It is kind of like the excited child on his or her plane ride telling everyone (s)he is going to ride in an airplane. All of a sudden those big engines come to life and the child becomes very quite as (s)he suddenly realizes that (s)he is about to leave the earth for the first time in his/her life and has no idea if this is a good thing or not.

 

They filed their lawsuit alleging RCI is responsible for their son/brother's death. Then reality sinks in when a lawyer starts asking embarrassing questions that they have to answer, and then realize they have to do it again, in front of a lot of people.

 

As to blood money, that will bother some people, others it will not. You would be amazed at how many injuries are suddenly cured once the plaintiff gets the money. Saint Dollar?

[Cuizer2]

What about suing for skin cancer medical bills plus "pain and mental anguish" from the sunburn you got while on board? The cruise line failed to provide adequate sun protection. It's my right to be outside.

This could be a gold mine! :rolleyes:

 

People have sued McDonalds for getting fat and Las Vegas for losing their money. It is easy to sue, harder to win. See the link below ...

 

http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp

[sas80]

I agree 100% Assigning $$ will not help the family move to the "WHY" stage of grief. On top of it, it's embarirssing in theory to be a survivor of someone who died like this.... so it's natural to slink into the "its not his fault"..... HELLO..... it is, but it IS still tragic and terrible and we're all sorry for the family loss and grieving..... but it IS what it IS. The survivors energy would be better placed talking in schools about binge drinking and the consequences... than placing anger at the ship where the "departed" made some bad choices with VERY bad outcomes

 

carol

 

Agreed!

[TahoeBob]

Let's not forget the women who sued McDonalds when she was burned with hot coffee while driving and awarded how much??? lots..

And this shows whats happens when people post with out knowing all teh facts. Did you know that McDonalds had been warned about there coffee. I sorry but no one should have to get third degree burns from spilt coffee. Check the facts next time before you post.

[FlyingPhotog]

And this shows whats happens when people post with out knowing all teh facts. Did you know that McDonalds had been warned about there coffee. I sorry but no one should have to get third degree burns from spilt coffee. Check the facts next time before you post.

 

Burned or not... At some point people have to suck it up and say "I shouldn't have spilled that on myself."

 

I sprained my foot playing softball a couple weeks ago when I hit a base. Should I sue the base maker, the park controller and Nike who made my shoes?

 

Crap like this keeps going on and you'll see these warning stickers on cars: "WARNING: Brake pedal must be pressed in order to bring vehicle to a stop." :rolleyes: