Posted on 07/31/2018 6:41:26 AM PDT by golux
...The boats, modeled on the amphibious landing craft used in the D-Day invasion, have a checkered history including more than three dozen fatalities on water and land, including the Branson sinking, according to the complaint.
“This tragedy was the predictable and predicted result of decades of unacceptable, greed-driven, and willful ignorance of safety by the Duck Boat industry in the face of specific and repeated warnings that their Duck Boats are death traps for passengers and pose grave danger to the public on water and on land,” the complaint said.
Robert Mongeluzzi, an attorney for the families, told a news conference, “The quest for justice includes doing everything within our power to ban duck boats once and for all,” according to a statement.
Mongeluzzi represented the families of two people killed when a duck boat crashed into a barge and sank in Philadelphia in 2010, winning a $17 million settlement.
Seven other members of Coleman and Ly’s families were killed in the incident, and Mongeluzzi’s law firm said in the statement that its lawyers plan to file lawsuits on behalf of other victims.
Ripley Entertainment declined comment on the lawsuit, but said it was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
The suit alleges that Ride the Ducks endangered passengers by letting the boat out onto the water after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area, and that passengers were not told to put on life jackets. It also cites a 2017 report from a private inspector who concluded that duck boats were prone to engine failure in bad weather...
(Excerpt) Read more at gcaptain.com ...
Wear your life jacket.
Slimy, ambulance chasing vermin smells a big cash payout.
No, we need to ban thunderstorms.
A life jacket would not do much good if the boat sinks quickly in a squall. The hard roof actually traps passengers inside — even if they have life jackets on.
Sometimes it takes slimy ambulance chasers to end folly (despite the overkill) if those of sense won’t.
The duck boat is a dangerous design. It should be costly to insure. I could see modifications like duck boats with tops that pop off in case of mishaps.
Ban ambulance chasers.
How about banning those who would take a duck boat full of people into one?
IMO, the aggrieved plaintiffs have a legitimate claim that will be limited to whatever value can be placed on the company, I’m certain they are an independent contractor, and the face value of the insurance they carry. There isn’t a $100 million here; maybe $5 million (+/-)
“Wear your life jacket.”
Not inside a Duck boat where all you would do is float to the top and get trapped.
Any captain with any experience, the second a storm was in the area, would have called for all passengers to put on life jackets.
Some of my most enjoyable tours of places I have visited briefly have been duck tours.
Now one greedy ahole will take them away from everyone.
All duck boats used for public rides ought to have poppable tops. It’s like if your car goes into a lake, it’s easier to get out if it was an open convertible.
No! Just modify the boats to have poppable tops.
(Atty: “Ban Duck Boats once and for all.”
What’s next? Skydiving, skiing, surfing, scuba diving? I mean, someone could get hurt.
BS argument.
The duck boat is a dangerous design.
I don’t think they are that dangerous. And they are definitely saver than a Harley Davidson on most roads, even with a helmet. And no, I don’t think we should ban motorcycles.
Life is risk. At least, it is if it’s worth living.
>>No! Just modify the boats to have poppable tops.<<
Maybe but the insurance companies won’t go for it without a TON of tests, etc. And all the ducks (which are old WW II craft) will have to be retrofitted to industry standards, which will be expensive.
This will kill the duck industry.
The duck boat roof is still a problem though.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
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