There have been rough seas for Carnival Cruise Lines and their passengers following several high-profile disasters that have kicked Carnival’s reputation into the gutter. Now, according to its new CEO, Arnold Donald, Carnival is investing $500 million on fleet-wide improvements in an attempt to save the world’s largest cruise line.
It was just a year ago that Carnival’s Costa Concordia ran ashore off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people on board. In an interview with CBS news, Donald–who has been CEO for only a couple of months–failed to take responsibility for the accident, instead calling it a “one-off unbelievable error in judgment, and . . . a tragedy.”
Earlier this year, a fire in the engine room of Carnival’s Triumph disabled the ship, causing it to drift across the Gulf of Mexico without power or working toilets while its passengers stewed in sewage. Our Miami Cruise Line Accident Attorneys filed the very first Carnival accident case for personal injuries in this country on behalf of a passenger who became severely dehydrated during that nightmarish cruise.
That law suit, filed in Federal Court in Miami, has already survived a Motion to Dismiss by Carnival and is currently scheduled for trial. According to Mr. Donald, “Not only did no one die, no one was hurt, no one was sick, so there was no safety health issue involved with the Triumph at all.” Apparently he is unaware of or chooses to ignore our client’s lawsuit.
One of the positive outcomes of the Triumph disaster is that it has forced Carnival to reassess its ships’ safety systems, and the cruise line is spending upwards of half a billion dollars to upgrade its fleet–for instance, by increasing the number of water mist nozzles from 30 to 500, adding a 24/7 manned patrol to look for oil or fuel leaks, and even installing a second backup generator.
The bottom line for Carnival and other cruise lines is that they need to learn to make passenger safety a priority over profits. Cruise ships are like floating hotels out in the middle of the ocean. It is unforgivable to operate with an outdated fire prevention system or a single back-up generator, thereby keeping thousands of people in the dark or without running water for hours or days.
Our law firm has successfully sued cruise ships and cruise lines for more than 20 years on behalf of passengers injured on board, in excursions, and on tenders. If you or a family member has slipped, fallen, or tripped aboard a passenger cruise ship operated by a line such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, Disney, or Holland America, most likely your claim will have to be filed within one year of the alleged incident and in the Southern District of Florida here in Miami.
We are passionate about holding cruise lines accountable for injured passengers, and we work hard to obtain our clients compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering. If you have a potential claim, please email me, Spencer Aronfeld, or call our office today toll-free for a free initial consultation: 866-597-4529.
