Here comes the lawsuit.

[oneputt18]

Didn't take very long for the mother of the gal that went overboard :

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-overboard-passenger-id-20121003,0,3413454.story

 

 

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[SpeedGeek]

I can understand questioning procedure so as to minimize time before a report and a search. If that's the goal of the lawsuit, then I'm with her. Two hours does seem like a lot, but I would like to know RCCL's side with regard to how they handle it. My understanding has been the ship stops immediately and they do a head count to be sure someone is missing before notifying USCG just in case it's a false alarm. But I don't know for sure.

[vicocala]

People don't fall off cruise ships, they jump or are thrown overboard. If as the story says they have security cameras of the incident then they must know what happened.

[azippy]

I can understand questioning procedure so as to minimize time before a report and a search. If that's the goal of the lawsuit, then I'm with her. Two hours does seem like a lot, but I would like to know RCCL's side with regard to how they handle it. My understanding has been the ship stops immediately and they do a head count to be sure someone is missing before notifying USCG just in case it's a false alarm. But I don't know for sure.

 

TV tonight ( here in FL) said that a pax was hit by something falling from above and that was what she called in -- " something" - so they went to the video cameras and when they got that far and knew what the something was -- they turned back -- under an hour -- from what I heard -- what ever the time you have to double it - going forward + going back - so even 30 - 45 minutes to check it out was a long time under the circumstances.

 

sad for sure --

[beachdiamonds]

My heart aches for her. I won't comment on her legal actions as its inappropriate and I don't want to even think about what it's like to be in her shoes. My thoughts are for comfort and peace for the family.

[Trekker954]

i never did hear the final investigation details of how this woman "fell" overboard. I've had balconies on the Allure and Oasis and unless you are roughhousing, climbing or sitting on the rail which should not be allowed or at your own risk or drunk, I don't see how you can accidently fall. So was it ever mentioned which of these activities the girl was doing? I assume she was alone since her mom didn't sound like she even knew the girl was missing. Its a very sad story, but I get so tired of people wanting to always blame others for their bad decisions and like the OP said, this lawsuit didn't waste any time. What about the 6,000 passengers who had their cruise disrupted by all of this.

[northcove]

i never did hear the final investigation details of how this woman "fell" overboard. I've had balconies on the Allure and Oasis and unless you are roughhousing, climbing or sitting on the rail which should not be allowed or at your own risk or drunk, I don't see how you can accidently fall. So was it ever mentioned which of these activities the girl was doing? I assume she was alone since her mom didn't sound like she even knew the girl was missing. Its a very sad story, but I get so tired of people wanting to always blame others for their bad decisions and like the OP said, this lawsuit didn't waste any time. What about the 6,000 passengers who had their cruise disrupted by all of this.

 

Really? REALLY?? Someone DIED. So sorry that a death, disrupted the other passengers. :eek:

 

Like beachdiamonds, my heart goes out to the family. As for the lawsuit, it's not my place to comment.

[Trekker954]

This was the first time I heard that something fell from above her and hit her knocking her overboard. Now that would be a lawsuit if its something that broke off from the cruiseship or if its something a balcony higher up threw, I'd like to hear about that. Thats very dangerous.

They obviously have the video and it doesn't sound like she jumped; but again, if something knocked her overboard, it sounds like she must have been sitting on the rail. Why? I don't think its easy to climb up on those rails

[Bette And Bill]

This was the first time I heard that something fell from above her and hit her knocking her overboard. Now that would be a lawsuit if its something that broke off from the cruiseship or if its something a balcony higher up threw, I'd like to hear about that. Thats very dangerous.

They obviously have the video and it doesn't sound like she jumped; but again, if something knocked her overboard, it sounds like she must have been sitting on the rail. Why? I don't think its easy to climb up on those rails

 

Linda - my understanding is that another passenger on a deck or so below where the young lady fell from felt something and called it in. It was after a review of the video that what the other lady felt was the young lady who went overboard.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

The lawyers will make money ..

[SpeedGeek]

i never did hear the final investigation details of how this woman "fell" overboard. I've had balconies on the Allure and Oasis and unless you are roughhousing, climbing or sitting on the rail which should not be allowed or at your own risk or drunk, I don't see how you can accidently fall. So was it ever mentioned which of these activities the girl was doing? I assume she was alone since her mom didn't sound like she even knew the girl was missing. Its a very sad story, but I get so tired of people wanting to always blame others for their bad decisions and like the OP said, this lawsuit didn't waste any time. What about the 6,000 passengers who had their cruise disrupted by all of this.

 

The suit as stated in the article focuses on the time between the incident and notification of USCG for a search and rescue. If the time difference really is two hours, that's a tremendous amount of time and significantly reduces the possibility of a rescue. Add in that it probably took another hour for the USCG helicopter to get dispatched, in the air, and to the location. I can definitely understand wanting to get to the bottom of that. If the end result is a change in policy or procedure to minimize that time then that's a good result. I don't see anything as of yet to indicate that the mother is blaming RCCL for her daughter going overboard.

[Sinppu]

"Lawyer says she could have been saved"

 

Do they have any idea how long it takes to stop and turn around a ship size of the Allure? Especially if they can not be sure at the very second that someone has indeed gone over board?

 

Oh dear.

[SeaTeach]

What about the 6,000 passengers who had their cruise disrupted by all of this.

Wow!! What a callous statement.

[TwoTravelin]

If I remember correctly from when the story was first published, the ship and 2 other cruuse ships began searching immediately and coast guard came a bit later.

[A&L_Ont]

If I remember correctly from when the story was first published, the ship and 2 other cruuse ships began searching immediately and coast guard came a bit later.

 

I remember reading that too. I don't remember the time gap though.

[goose30]

The lost woman's mother should also sue her employer. If she hadn't been given the cruise as a reward this would not have happened.

[misty57]

It is part of the grieving process during the anger phase to look to blame others for the loss. Whether it actually took 2 hours for the rescue efforts to ensue or not, it probably seemed like it did. I feel for the mom. There are so many unanswered questions for her, some of which may never be answered.

[north29]

They will have or be forced to have a wire fence inclosing all balconies, and a 20 foot high fence around the ship to keep us all safe.

I do feel for the loss of the life, but a law suite probably by ambulance chasers is too common is cases of human judgement errors, if indeed it was a human error in judgement, I imagine she had multiple phone calls from lawyers.

[BND]

The lawyer can't prove that she could have been saved. The amount of time really isn't the issue. I don't remember what deck she fell from, but anymore than a few decks can be instant death. People forget that hitting water from even 30-40 feet can kill you instantly and more than likely knock you out, depending on how you land and falling from 6-7 decks (70+ feet) will at the very least knock you unconcious and probably kill you. I really doubt she went in feet first, unless she deliberately jumped. It takes time to turn a ship around, which they shouldn't do unless they know for sure someone has gone overboard. I refuse to say "fallen" because you cannot just trip and fall overboard with the heights of the railings.

[Ocean Boy]

"Lawyer says she could have been saved"

 

Do they have any idea how long it takes to stop and turn around a ship size of the Allure? Especially if they can not be sure at the very second that someone has indeed gone over board?

 

Oh dear.

 

I could have won the lottery last night too but that didn't haopen either. Imagine what an amazing world this would be if all of us average people were as all knowing as the lawyers.

[misty57]

They don't have to prove anything. They may very well get a settlement. There was that one well publicized case on the Brilliance. It would be interesting to know how the RCI staff treated her mother, what kind of support and caring they provided, such as keeping her informed of the rescue efforts. Sometimes that can make all the difference, but then it may not have influenced her decision to "lawyer up".

[oneputt18]

This was the first time I heard that something fell from above her and hit her knocking her overboard. Now that would be a lawsuit if its something that broke off from the cruiseship or if its something a balcony higher up threw, I'd like to hear about that. Thats very dangerous.

They obviously have the video and it doesn't sound like she jumped; but again, if something knocked her overboard, it sounds like she must have been sitting on the rail. Why? I don't think its easy to climb up on those rails

Your reading it wrong, the pax that went overboard hit a pax on balcony below grazing her arm.

[joe6666]

Didn't the newspaper article mention that the Coast Guard would not start a search unltil the ship verified that someone had actually gone missing and possibly overboard?

That means the ship would have to have a roll call or watch the video.

[songbird1329]

I love how everyone on these boards is now an expert who knows what happened and knows whether the suit has merit based on a media sound bite. We haven't seen the video or read the reports from the ship's investigation. We're speculating. And I'm sure most of us are basing our conclusions on nothing more than personal experiences as passengers.

 

This isn't a frivolous lawsuit. And the mother is entitled to an opportunity to determine if the cruise line caused or contributed to her daughter's death.

 

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[akcruz]

The lawyer can't prove that she could have been saved. The amount of time really isn't the issue. I don't remember what deck she fell from, but anymore than a few decks can be instant death. People forget that hitting water from even 30-40 feet can kill you instantly and more than likely knock you out, depending on how you land and falling from 6-7 decks (70+ feet) will at the very least knock you unconcious and probably kill you. I really doubt she went in feet first, unless she deliberately jumped. It takes time to turn a ship around, which they shouldn't do unless they know for sure someone has gone overboard. I refuse to say "fallen" because you cannot just trip and fall overboard with the heights of the railings.

 

Your reading it wrong, the pax that went overboard hit a pax on balcony below grazing her arm.

 

This is what I had read, that a passenger on a lower deck got "grazed" by the girl as she fell. If she hit a passenger on the way down I would think she hit other things as well. Chances of her still being conscious when hitting the water were very slim.

 

I truly feel for the mother and the rest of the girls family, but a lawsuit? Guess it is just the world we live in today. Hopefully she can get some peace eventually??