Those who were on board the Carnival Triumph when an engine fire caused the ship to be left adrift for days are now suing Carnival Cruise Lines for $5,000 a month for the rest of their lives to pay for medical bills and mental pain.
In February 2013, the Carnival Triumph broke down after leaving from Galveston, Texas for a four-day cruise that stopped in Cozumel, Mexico. However a fire broke out in the engine room of the ship as it was on its way back from Cozumel. The incident left the ship without engine power. It also knocked out the air conditioning and toilets, leaving passengers stuck in the Gulf of Mexico for five days, as the conditions on the ship became horrendous, unsanitary and dangerous.
Now 33 passengers are suing for $5,000 a month and another pending lawsuit includes three times as many plaintiffs. A federal judge in South Florida heard three weeks worth of testimony from the passengers and is expected to make a decision within the next two months, Reuters reports.
The Miami lawsuit is the first Triumph case to go to trial as others as in preparation.
Carnival spoke out on the lawsuits saying that while guests had to deal with uncomfortable conditions, they also made it home safely and were given a full refund, a free cruise in the future and an additional $500 each in compensation.
"This is an opportunistic lawsuit brought by plaintiff's counsel and plaintiffs who seek to make a money grab," a company spokeswoman told Reuters.
Debra Oubre, one of the plaintiffs, claims that she has panic and anxiety attacks ever since the cruise. She also claims the cruise for a urinary tract infection that she developed.
"It was chaotic. People were in dire need of help," Oubre told Reuters. "We were standing in line for food for five hours."
Federal judge Donald Graham has already claimed that the engine going on fire was proof that Carnival was negligent, which is bad news for the cruise line.
"It would seem rather obvious that ships shouldn't just catch fire and then have fire suppression systems that don't work," Robert Peltz, a Miami maritime lawyer, told Reuters.
Carnival has taken steps to improve its ships since the incident. It started a fleet-wide enhancement, which includes a re-wiring of its engine rooms as well as improvements in fire safety and emergency power sources.
Cruise lines have taken preventative steps to fight against lawsuits by clearly printing on the tickets, terms that say that passengers must waive their right to a class-action lawsuit. However depending on the ruling of this case, those terms can change.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
