Understanding Litigation Options for Passengers of the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Accident
This is Cruise Ship Attorney Enrico Schaefer. Today, we’re talking about the Costa Concordia accident. We are a law firm that specializes in representing victims of cruise ship accidents.
Play: Understanding Litigation Options for Passengers of the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Accident
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With: Enrico Schaefer
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We handled a block of over 45 passengers on the Crown Princess cruise ship disaster case back in 2006. These are very specialized accidents when you have a large number of passengers on a cruise ship affected by a listing accident or disaster or crash against the rocks, as occurred here with the Costa Concordia cruise ship. Now, as we all know, the Costa Concordia cruise ship is owned Costa Cruise Lines. Costa Cruise Lines is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. The trip occurred outside of the United States. There are many people from many countries who, in fact, have been affected by the accident who were passengers on that cruise ship. we’re getting a number of inquiries from passengers about what their legal rights are to pursue settlement, to receive compensation and damages as a result of their physical and emotional injuries as passengers on board that cruise ship. And as we all know, there are also family members of victims who died as a result of that accident. So, there are many legal issues that passengers are trying to sort out. Today, we’re going to try to go through some of those.
The first question that cruise ship passengers on the Costa Concordia are asking us is: “Where can they pursue their legal rights against the Costa Cruise Lines, against Carnival?” The passage contract is the document that is provided to the passengers that detail a number of different things about the cruise. And one of those things are if a passenger is injured or is going to seek compensation arising out of an injury on the cruise ship, then they need to bring the lawsuit in a particular venue and forum. In this instance, the passage contract specifies Italy as the venue where any litigation needs to be brought.
The next question is: “Is that passage contract, which specifies that lawsuits must be filed for the Costa Concordia accident in Italy, is that enforceable?” and the answer is maybe, maybe not. For citizens of the United States who were injured on the cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, they may have the legal right to sue in the United States, even though the passage contract specifies Italy. And the lawsuits and cases that are going to be filed against Costa Cruise Lines for the Costa Concordia accident, in fact, will be brought in the United States. Costa Cruise Lines and Carnival may come in and contest those lawsuits relying on the passage contract. The law in this area is somewhat unclear. There are cases that state that these passage contracts, these forum clauses in these passage contracts are not necessarily enforceable against the passengers. And there are a number of different factors that the courts will look at for passengers from Italy and France and Germany and Japan and China and other countries who were on board the cruise ship. The specific venue issues will be resolved through an analysis of the types of things like where were they located, where did they buy their passage contract, did Costa Cruise Lines or Carnival market to them in their local jurisdictions, did they use a travel agency in their local jurisdiction, these types of issues.
The second question that we are getting from prospective clients is what kind of compensation and damages am I going to be entitled to, and again, this is an issue that requires a lot of legal expertise in cruise ship accident cases and maritime law. The answer is going to be dependent on where the lawsuit is brought, where the judge is located, how the judges in the various jurisdictions deal with these issues. The reality that there may be a cap to damages is one that cruise ship accident lawyers who are going to be bringing lawsuits and cases against Costa Concordia are going to be challenging. And the reason they’re going to challenge those damage caps for injuries that were suffered on the cruise ship, both physical and emotional, is because there is an exception for reckless or intentional conduct.
In this case, the captain of the Costa Concordia took the ship deliberately off course overrode the computer systems, disregarded the charts, which indicated rocks, turned too late, hit the rocks, and then engaged in a number of actions thereafter, which showed complete disregard for passenger safety. So, he may be prosecuted for manslaughter as a result of his reckless and intentional conduct as the captain of the cruise ship. Clearly, he violated international safety law with regards to his operation of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. So, cruise ship accident attorneys such as myself and others are going to be arguing, and probably successfully, that there are no damage caps or limitations on how much money a passenger can recover as a result of their injuries.
The next question we get is: “Do I have to have suffered a physical injury in order to be entitled to compensation?” Again, this is a complex issue requiring an attorney who specializes in these types of cruise ship disaster cases. The reality is that many passage contracts specify, and certain international laws specify, as well as several U.S. laws specify, that there has to be some physical injury in order to receive a recovery. There will be many arguments made by attorneys and lawyers that that does not apply. But here’s the thing you really need to know if you were a passenger on the cruise ship. You need to contact a lawyer who is experienced in bringing cruise ship injury lawsuits for these types of cases such as the Costa Concordia accident because a physical manifestation of injury is a very law threshold in many jurisdictions. It could be sleeplessness and anxiety as a result of the accident. So, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a broken bone or a broken leg or a broken shoulder or a bleeding head. The injury can be a physical manifestation of an emotional problem. So, if you are not able to sleep at night, you need to go to your doctor and report that, they need to put it the chart. If you are shaking or have been shaking as a result of the accident and are experiencing anxiety, then you need to record that so that the attorney that you decide to hire to represent you in a case arising out of the Costa Concordia accident can have the proof that you did, in fact, have a physical injury.
The next question we are getting is: “Should I hire an attorney in the United States to represent me if I was a passenger on board the Costa Concordia?” And the answer is you should hire the best attorney for the job with the most experience in these types of matters. You are going to end up paying a one-third contingency fee to a lawyer or law firm arising out of this accident. If that lawyer can analyze the matter and bring your case in the United States, they probably will do so. The United States has the most favorable laws to plaintiffs. But even if that U.S. lawyer has to file a lawsuit in Italy, that lawyer will hire an Italian counterpart to file the case and your total fee will still be one-third, meaning that the lawyers will divide amongst themselves whatever their fee is in the case, you will receive two-thirds of the recovery in the case after costs. So, you just need to hire the best cruise ship accident attorney that you can, and one that’s already investigating the Costa Concordia disaster.
My name is Enrico Schaefer. I specialize in cruise ship accident cases, and we will see you next time.
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