Do you have any Rights as a Cruiser
Monday morning there it was on the news... NY Attorney to represent victims of the Costa Concordia Cruise ship accident. It was inevitable I was just waiting to see who would be the representing attorney and hear his views. Listening to him I decided to also do some research as he made valid comments in his interview, and I also found this article out of Milan..... I'm posting part of the article and will add the link for you to read more......
MILAN - Passengers of the doomed Costa Concordia launched a legal battle for compensation Tuesday, but experts expect the cruise operator to offer a settlement to stave off a court case.
In Italy, consumer rights' association Codacons said 70 passengers have joined a class action suit against the shipowner Costa Crociere.
"Over 70 passengers who were on board the ship have joined the class action suit initiated by our association," Codacons head Carlo Rienzi said in a statement.
"Our objective is to get each passenger at least 10,000 euros compensation for material damage and also for ... the fear suffered, the holidays ruined and the serious risks endured," he said.
The legal action will have to be judged admissible by a magistrate in a procedure that could take "some months," according to the co-head of the consumer rights association, Marco Ramadori.
Ramadori said he was "fairly confident" that the action would be allowed.
The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 people when it ran aground on Friday shortly after starting a seven-day Mediterranean cruise, leaving at least 11 dead and about two dozen still missing. Read more
So from all that I have read it looks like the surviving passengers of the Costa Concordia will have an uphill court battle against Costa Crociere who owns the "Costa Concordia". Some articles have stated that the victims will be barred from filing suit in the United States against Costa Crociere who owns the vessel, even though Carnival Corp who is Miami-based is the actual owner of Costa Crociere. Reason for this being the incident took place in Italian waters. They also go on to say there is a clause written into the Concordia's ticket that basically states all cruise ship lawsuits must be brought in the courts of Genoa, Italy. I am sure that is not the last of the case of the Costa Concordia that I will be writing about as this is pretty interesting and extremely knowledgeable. Also I read that even if the injured passengers pursue the lawsuit, compensation may be limited as apparently there is an International Agreement called the Athens Convention that caps the cruise ship operator liability to about $80,000 per person.
Contact us online or via 954 431 8100 or 305 624 9186 for your FREE consultation, should you find yourself a victim of a cruise ship accident to ensure you receive proper compensation.
