Brilliance o/t Seas passenger suing RCI over death of wife in storm off Alexandria

Having to watch a wife slip away from you like that must have been so horrible for the husband....many were hurt that night, now someone has died as a result of serious head injuries aquired during the storm...very, very sad for the lady's family....

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/01/30/taxi-driver-sues-royal-caribbean-cruise-line-over-his-wife-s-death-86908-22886099/

Very very sad, I feel for the gentleman and his family.

Having read the newspaper, I was surprised to read that propellers could be seen coming out of the water, and wondered from where could they be seen, this was obviously one h*** of a storm.

How very sad to hear, thoughts are with the family. I honestly agree with the passengers as to not understanding why the captain didn't stay in port until the storm passes rather then risking the ship, the crew and the passengers lives.

CK x

I honestly agree with the passengers as to not understanding why the captain didn't stay in port until the storm passes rather then risking the ship, the crew and the passengers lives.

 

CK x

That is the big question surrounding this whole incident....why did RCI send Brilliance to Alexandria that night when other cruise lines either stayed in port or diverted elsewhere to avoid the weather.

The captain on Brilliance claims that the weather was worse than what actually forecast, yet that weather forecast would have been recieved by other captains on other ships (IIRC MSC Splendida was one) and the other captains did not proceed to Alexandria.

The only cruise ship to proceed as normal was Brilliance. I am not one to apportion blame or to encourage lawsuits against a cruise line very often (as most are somewhat spurious) but in this case, I really do feel that RCI not only dropped the ball but kicked it way off field too.

The last paragraph of the newspaper piece speaks volumes...how RCI are continuing to do everything they can to assist this family. Ordinarily a cruise line would issue a standard apology plus refund or compensation and leave it at that...but this time, almost a month after the storm, they are still active with this family. Call me cynical but that smells of guilt just a tiny bit.

This poor husband and their family have lost what sounds like a wonderful woman through no fault of their own...rough seas are something that we cruisers know can happen and usually a captain will move heaven and earth to skirt around or avoid it......this time a major error of judgement was made and someone has to be held accountable, its just sad that it has taken a death to gain that accountability.

This is so sad. I hope this causes a full investigation into what really happened. To lose your life because of carelessness or to make a buck is beyond words.

I didn't know that modern gas turbine propulsion systems still had propellers :confused:

"I saw the propellers lifting out of the sea. We were on the tenth floor and the waves seemed inches away."

I didn't know that modern gas turbine propulsion systems still had propellers :confused:

It is completely possible that the propulsion units were seen that night.

Visualise a ship pitching & rolling to around 30% in 45ft+ seas without stabilisers deployed (as was reported at the time regarding the stabilisers). That ship would have been like a cork in a whirlpool.

Very sad she died as a possible result of the bad weather experience. Getting a head injury definitly is bad news.

I hope though if it ends up in a court room the solicitor/attorney will be smart enough to not have wittness statements about seeing waves at deck 10...especially since that is roughly 100' above the water line.

As for RCCL still helping the family, that is the right thing to do in a very serious injury/death situation. A quick refund and a kick in the rear would not come close to being enough help...

Very sad she died as a possible result of the bad weather experience. Getting a head injury definitly is bad news.

 

I hope though if it ends up in a court room the solicitor/attorney will be smart enough to not have wittness statements about seeing waves at deck 10...especially since that is roughly 100' above the water line.

 

As for RCCL still helping the family, that is the right thing to do in a very serious injury/death situation. A quick refund and a kick in the rear would not come close to being enough help...

30% list in 45ft+ seas...deck ten would be almost on the waterline...so seeing waves hit deck ten windows is more than conceivable....

Smaller ship but same principle...

Watch the entire video, the ship leans right over, the sea height gets way up the sides. The video is from the Med too, incase anyone doubts that the Med can be so bad.

Or Diamond Princess...larger ship but with stabilisers deployed, no list as such but those seas certainly made it quite high....

I didn't know that modern gas turbine propulsion systems still had propellers :confused:

The gas turbines drive generators. The propellers are electric pod type propellers like those on Voyager/Freedom/Oasis class.

It is completely possible that the propulsion units were seen that night.

 

Visualise a ship pitching & rolling to around 30% in 45ft+ seas without stabilisers deployed (as was reported at the time regarding the stabilisers). That ship would have been like a cork in a whirlpool.

One could have probably been able to see the propulsion pods, but not from the same ship. They would have had to lean pretty far over the railing to be able to see something that's under the ship.

My questions would be was there a triage set up to assess injuries? If they did who did the assessments MD or RN? She was complainig of headaches and N/V.... a patient that had blunt head trauma should have been on concusion watch and those are classic symptoms of a concussion..

So it isnt just the Captain that made an error.... the medical staff is liable for the loss of his wife as well

I didn't know that modern gas turbine propulsion systems still had propellers :confused:

What exactly do you think propells the ship through the water if not the propellers?

The propellers are mounted on azipods and driven by electric motors. The power for the electric motors comes from gas turbine generators.

My questions would be was there a triage set up to assess injuries? If they did who did the assessments MD or RN? She was complainig of headaches and N/V.... a patient that had blunt head trauma should have been on concusion watch and those are classic symptoms of a concussion..

So it isnt just the Captain that made an error.... the medical staff is liable for the loss of his wife as well

Absolutely...this will no doubt hopefully be a part of the investigation carried out by the gentleman's lawyers.

Why was this passenger not monitored more closely, especially as she appears to have been showing classic symptons of a serious head injury.

Leaving her husband to care for her in the cabin is not good enough, he has no medical background or skills. He probably would not have known that he needed to keep her awake and not let her drift off to sleep with a head injury, especially after she had been vomiting so much....the poor man must have been frantic...

The medical staff may have had over 130 people with a variety of injuries but as you ask, where was the triage, where were the staff to sort out who was the most injured and get them treated appropriately?

I feel so bad for this man to have had this happen to him. I hope there is a full investigation as to why the ship left port. I can't believe with all of the radar technology that no one knew how bad it was. How did other cruise lines know to either not leave port or choose a different port? The captain should be held accountable as the medical staff.

30% list in 45ft+ seas...deck ten would be almost on the waterline...so seeing waves hit deck ten windows is more than conceivable....

 

Smaller ship but same principle...

 

 

Watch the entire video, the ship leans right over, the sea height gets way up the sides. The video is from the Med too, incase anyone doubts that the Med can be so bad.

 

Or Diamond Princess...larger ship but with stabilisers deployed, no list as such but those seas certainly made it quite high....

 

There was not a 30% list...Even then a 45foot wave would not hit deck 10.

One could have probably been able to see the propulsion pods, but not from the same ship. They would have had to lean pretty far over the railing to be able to see something that's under the ship.

Totally agree here....

One would be way over the side, like on a rope hanging under the hull? The props should be totally underneath the ship or they couldn't pull up so close to the dock...

It may have been possible to see props on other ships, but I'd kind of doubt that as well. As we all know some folks like to really exagerate so their statements get them into the press, which we all know the press loves to see!

My questions would be was there a triage set up to assess injuries? If they did who did the assessments MD or RN? She was complainig of headaches and N/V.... a patient that had blunt head trauma should have been on concusion watch and those are classic symptoms of a concussion..

So it isnt just the Captain that made an error.... the medical staff is liable for the loss of his wife as well

And if the family just tried to self treat...there would be a whole different issue then. My reference being to care sought immediately after getting her head smacked around, not waiting until she was unconscious.

Let's hope that the family really did seek and get appropriate treatment on the ship as malpractice on the part of the medical staff will create some big issues to be debated on here....

Of course on the ship there is no MRI, presume no CT either but who knows these days maybe... so they may have donw what they could and it boiled down to on shore treatment.

Totally agree here....

 

One would be way over the side, like on a rope hanging under the hull? The props should be totally underneath the ship or they couldn't pull up so close to the dock...

 

It may have been possible to see props on other ships, but I'd kind of doubt that as well. As we all know some folks like to really exagerate so their statements get them into the press, which we all know the press loves to see!

I spose you also accuse this poor man of exaggerating the death of his wife too just to get into the media, eh?...:rolleyes:

For goodness sakes man, show a bit of compassion to this gentleman who went on a cruise with a wife who was alive and well and had to go through the trauma of seeing her slip away from him, ultimately turning off her life support machine!

So what if he said anything about the props being visible...where you on board too...did you see what happened...?

This man watching his beloved wife get seriously hurt in a totally preventable incident, he then had to sit and hold her hand as pray that she would wake up from a coma....that is no exaggeration, that is real pain and anguish and far more important than whether or not he saw the props out of the water.

Sheesh...some people have no heart....put yourself into that man's shoes, what would you be feeling right now?

And if the family just tried to self treat...there would be a whole different issue then. My reference being to care sought immediately after getting her head smacked around, not waiting until she was unconscious.

 

Let's hope that the family really did seek and get appropriate treatment on the ship as malpractice on the part of the medical staff will create some big issues to be debated on here...

It doesn't look that way. It looks like they went ashore to walk around, not to find medical assistance. :( But maybe he didn't know the signs of a brain injury? Its very possible.

Around here, hitting your head, then throwing up would send warning bells and flashing lights. But that's in my house. We look out for stuff like that. We have had enough medical emergencies to look out for head injuries (which we have had).

Very sad. :(

What exactly do you think propells the ship through the water if not the propellers?

 

The propellers are mounted on azipods and driven by electric motors. The power for the electric motors comes from gas turbine generators.

As I said, I didn't know. I was thinking of a some kind of jet propulsion system.

Still, don't like tabloid newspapers exaggerating the facts of this tragic event in order to sell more copies.

This thread has too much conjecture....Triage? I cannot see where they checked in with the Medical staff.

Stabilizers? Most ships retract them in heavy seas, otherwise they can be torn off. They work only when the ship is directly into the wave pattern, they do not good when the waves are abeam.

Allow this gentleman his time to mourn, to consult with his attorney and to proceed with our condolences, but not with wild guessing.

Around here, hitting your head, then throwing up would send warning bells and flashing lights. But that's in my house. We look out for stuff like that. We have had enough medical emergencies to look out for head injuries (which we have had).

Just don't wait for the throwing up if they are out cold...when I had my head injury just out and issues with coming to, so got to spend the night getting lots of tests etc...glad I was cleared the next day.

Just don't wait for the throwing up if they are out cold...when I had my head injury just out and issues with coming to, so got to spend the night getting lots of tests etc...glad I was cleared the next day.

Yeah, knocked out cold would be a dead giveaway. ;)

Ringing in the ears, dizziness, slurred speech, blurred vision, confusion, headache, vomiting....I have them all memorized. I have to be prepared with my youngest running around.

Either way, my heart goes out to her husband. It was an unfortunate accident. Law suit or not. Nothing is going to bring her back. :(

That is the big question surrounding this whole incident....why did RCI send Brilliance to Alexandria that night when other cruise lines either stayed in port or diverted elsewhere to avoid the weather.

 

The captain on Brilliance claims that the weather was worse than what actually forecast, yet that weather forecast would have been recieved by other captains on other ships (IIRC MSC Splendida was one) and the other captains did not proceed to Alexandria.

 

The only cruise ship to proceed as normal was Brilliance. I am not one to apportion blame or to encourage lawsuits against a cruise line very often (as most are somewhat spurious) but in this case, I really do feel that RCI not only dropped the ball but kicked it way off field too.

 

The last paragraph of the newspaper piece speaks volumes...how RCI are continuing to do everything they can to assist this family. Ordinarily a cruise line would issue a standard apology plus refund or compensation and leave it at that...but this time, almost a month after the storm, they are still active with this family. Call me cynical but that smells of guilt just a tiny bit.

 

This poor husband and their family have lost what sounds like a wonderful woman through no fault of their own...rough seas are something that we cruisers know can happen and usually a captain will move heaven and earth to skirt around or avoid it......this time a major error of judgement was made and someone has to be held accountable, its just sad that it has taken a death to gain that accountability.

This statement I don't agree with at all. People help other people for various reasons. RCI has the walk for wishes program on their ships. They don't help others in this way out of guilt. Sometimes people or businesses help others out of compassion.

An example - if the driver of a car has an accident that was caused by a sudden snow storm and they slid off the road, a passenger died not because of the driver's error but just by circumstance, don't you think the driver might continue to help the family and show compassion?

What if a child darts in front of a truck driven by the employee of a company and gets killed? If the company's owner shows compassion and assistance to the family left behind, is this an admission of guilt.

Sometimes people care for others just because - no guilt involved.

Gina