Posted on 04/03/2013 4:25:05 PM PDT by grundle
Carnival Cruise Line continues to make headlines following yet another cruise ship accident on the high seas. But while the "Fun Ship" company has been receiving negative press after the Carnival Triumph cruise ship debacle, it appears as though the most recent incident has surpassed the others in terms of gross negligence and disregard for passenger safety.
A cruise ship passenger who went overboard last year has sued Carnival Corp. after claiming she was encouraged to get alarmingly drunk, sustained severe injuries after falling into the ocean and was not offered immediate assistance, leaving her to float in the ocean for hours before being rescued.
The victim, Sarah Alexandra Badley Kirby has filed a suit against Carnival Corp., the parent company of Carnival Cruise Line, and four others, including two doctors. Kirby claims a bartender got her so drunk that she fell overboard, and while eyewitnesses reported the incident immediately after it occurred, it took the vessel about two hours to rescue her because the captain refused to immediately turn the ship around after being notified of the accident.
Kirby explained she was a passenger on the Carnival Destiny on a cruise from Miami to Jamaica with her fiancé and her friend Rebecca when she went overboard on Oct. 21, 2012. She claims a bartender "kept pushing" Long Island iced teas on her and encouraged her and her friends to keep drinking.
According to the complaint, the bartender "offered them free $5 coupons for the ship's casino. The more drinks they purchased, the more free coupons the Carnival bartender offered the plaintiff and her companions."
After becoming what she describes as "extremely intoxicated," Kirby returned to her stateroom with Rebecca. Kirby later went out to the cabin's balcony to get some fresh air, but as she was holding the balcony's wooden banister, she lost her grip and balance and fell overboard.
However, Kirby didn't just fall straight into the ocean. She first fell two stories, hitting a life raft, then plummeted five more stories into the water. Kirby suffered severe injuries, including several fractures, blood clots, lung contusions, hypothermia, and many other wounds.
Hurt and in pain, Kirby tried to swim and stay afloat, but kept swallowing water, which she said "would crash into her face." She believed she was going to die out in the water.
Meanwhile on the vessel, her friend Rebecca immediately notified authorities that Kirby had fallen overboard and others who were onboard also corroborated the story after either seeing the incident themselves or hearing Kirby fall into the water. Rebecca and Kirby's fiancé demanded the cruise ship staff to stop the vessel, but the request was denied and they were allegedly told that the vessel would not be stopped until crewmembers first searched the ship.
Despite the eyewitness accounts of the cruise ship accident, and the many cruise ship disappearances that have taken place over the years, leading to what we would hope would be improved safety protocols, the vessel's authorities refused to help, claiming they were merely "following standard procedure."
For the next 90 minutes, Rebecca and Kirby's fiancé were interrogated regarding the incident, finding themselves repeating the same story over and over, until finally, the vessel turned around to help Kirby.
After spending two hours in the ocean with serious injuries, it was a miracle Kirby was found and survived. But the nightmare doesn't stop there. After Kirby was brought back onboard, instead of being treated for her injures, she claims ship's doctor merely gave her some pain medication. Kirby also alleged Carnival refused to airlift her to a hospital, and instead, diverted the ship to Key West, where "doctors explained that they did not have the equipment to handle the severe trauma that plaintiff had suffered" and told her she should have been airlifted from the ship directly to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, which would have been the closest hospital to treat her trauma wounds.
About 16 hours passed from the time Kirby fell overboard to the time she actually began receiving the medical treatment she needed. Her injuries were so severe that she had to remain hospitalized for three weeks.
Carnival claims it was trying to "follow protocol" but the several eyewitnesses who reported actually seeing Kirby fall into the water should have been enough proof to have the ship turned back around to offer her immediate assistance. When a cruise ship's authorities refuse to do everything within reasonable power to help victims, they can be held accountable - at least in part - for the victim's injuries. Once recovered, Kirby decided to seek legal help for the incident with our law firm, and is being represented by our cruise ship passenger attorneys Michael Winkleman and Carlos Llinas Negret.
Our attorneys are helping Kirby seek punitive damages for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress for refusing to help her once notified of the incident.
The complaint states that "Carnival's conduct was so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community."
Although Kirby was a victim of negligence, it is a wonder she even survived the traumatizing cruise ship accident. Many cruise passengers who fall overboard are killed or go missing and their bodies are never recovered.
Statistics show that between 1995 and 2013, 198 cruise and ferry passengers and crewmembers have fallen overboard. A whopping 91 overboard victims were passengers or crewmembers onboard Carnival Corp.-owned ships, and 48 incidents were onboard Carnival Cruise Line vessels alone.
Many times, missing cruise victims are never heard from again, and their loved ones are left to deal with the incident alone and without the help of the cruise lines. Because most cruise ships fly foreign flags and are registered in foreign countries, any accident, including an overboard or missing persons' incident, is subject to be investigated by that particular country. This means that information takes a long time to reach the United States - if ever - and in the meantime, cruise companies are able to wash their hands of the task of conducting their own investigation, providing victims' loved ones with an explanation of what happened and do not have to worry about giving updates on the case.
Anytime an incident occurs that leads to a missing cruise ship passenger or crewmember, victims' loved ones have the right to turn to an attorney for assistance in filing a claim and protecting their rights. Cruise lines have a duty to provide a safe environment onboard all vessels, and when they fail to do so, they may be responsible for providing damages to surviving victims or the loved ones of those who have perished at sea.
They should follow the nanny states and require anyone outside on deck at all times to wear a life preserver with a radio beacon and flashing strobe. Yep.
On the one hand, “They made me get drunk!” seems like a rather feeble basis for a lawsuit.
On the other hand, if the Captain refused to turn the ship when he was told there was a man overboard, then he deserves to be fired. But I don’t know if that is what actually happened.
This woman sounds like your typical liberal “They forced alcohol down my throat..now pay me..I’m entitled!”
“...Kirby claims a bartender got her so drunk that she fell overboard...”
“According to the complaint, the bartender “offered them free $5 coupons for the ship’s casino. The more drinks they purchased, the more free coupons the Carnival bartender offered the plaintiff and her companions.”
So much for personal accountability....
Heh. Don't know if I'd blame Carnival for this or not, but I'll never sail on one of their ships. Their target market is the same crowd that watches reality-TV. It's just like the airlines, prices have dropped dramatically and you pay the old , higher ones to be with people you can stand to associate with.
It would appear to be much easier to launch a small Zodiac boat to retrieve any passengers that go overboard then turn around the entire cruise ship.
... she was encouraged to get alarmingly drunk, sustained severe injuries after falling into the ocean and was not offered immediate assistance ...
Sounds a bit like me when I got married in Thailand. I wasn’t hurt too bad, but no one has come to my rescue after 34 1/2 years of marriage.
If some moron goes overboard when a cruiseliner is going full speed, safely stopping the vessel will put the ship 10 or more miles away from where the clown fell overboard. Turning it and returning to the original spot can be dangerous, and will burn tons of fuel that could leave everyone stranded far from port.
The best response is to call it in to first responders who are equipped to help or to radio smaller, nimbler craft.
cruising is less and less appealing the more you learn about it.
“They made me get drunk”- So if I lose a large amount of money at a casino, I should blame them due to their “complimentary drinks” policy and sue them for my losses? Unbelievable.
These are the idiots that support Doomberg.
Just get an inside cabin if you can't handle your booze.
I guess the bartender forced the “victim” to get drunk. I wonder how many scum bag lawyers were lined up on shore when the ship docked.
What do you want to bet this poor soused “victim” is an odumbo voter.
....and, of course, according to this piece....the ship's crew did absolutely none of the above.
Her drunkenness was her fault, period. The crew's jaw-dropping negligence means they should fry, period.
I wonder how often he’s told someone went overboard.
The captain should be keelhauled.
According to the complaint, the bartender “offered them free $5 coupons for the ship’s casino. The more drinks they purchased, the more free coupons the Carnival bartender offered the plaintiff and her companions.”
*********
There’s the answer. FREE $5 coupons. No responsibility, just FREE coupons. She wantes MORE money to gamble away. I hope the judge throws her out on her face!
On the open ocean, launching a small craft like that for a rescue would endanger everyone on it. Besides, even if you were to launch one, the cruise ship would still need to turn around to recover it. With the ship steaming away for some time before starting the rescue effort, the small craft would have a very large expanse of ocean to cover.
When I was in the Navy, one of my people went missing while we were underway. The ship was turned around at the first report of the possibility of his going overboard. We retraced our course until he was found. Fortunately, he had hidden away for a nap in a fan room rather than having gone overboard. While he was in some trouble (Captain's Mast) for doing that, things could have been much worse otherwise.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.