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Eurodam passenger reported missing 11/29/12

Salacia

By Salacia,
in Holland America Line

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Bearnaise

Bearnaise

Posted
Posted (edited)
Just because the family retained a maritime attorney doesn't necessarily mean they are only looking for a monetary reimbursement for this tragedy.

 

I am sure they feel that having an attorney to intercede for them with the cruise line, the FBI, and in general to assist them in finding out what happened seems to me to be a wise decision.

 

If this happened in my family, I would be looking for closure. I'd want to know where he went overboard, if anyone saw him and is not speaking out, where was the man he was arguing with when this happened, etc. There are a lot of questions that the family needs answers to and it's not clear how forthcoming HAL would be in a situation like this. Their attorneys will direct what information can be revealed to the family which is why it's so important for any passengers who have direct information on what happened to come forward to the family.

 

I wish them luck in finding out what happened. Since there are guard rails all over the ship, I just don't understand how someone can just fall over board.

I saw a publicity-happy firm blogging about the events before anything is truly known about it, not a diligent law firm working confidentially to protect the best interests of the family. YMMV.

 

But I agree that it's pretty darn hard to accidentally fall off, which is why I believe the attorney's actions may backfire here. If the husband was truly suicidal or so drunk that he fell over, does the family really want it make public by such a scandal-pushing ambulance chaser?

Edited by Bearnaise
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michmike

michmike

Posted
Posted
Did you post on this thread in error?

 

was posting in response to comments on page 2 by billie 5 and noobcruise re the age of the guy who was missing, relative to THEIR ages...

 

but thanks for your concern.. those of us in our dotage CAN wander at times.. hence the "day of the week" floor mats in the elevators on many HAL ships

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Bearnaise

Bearnaise

Posted
Posted
How can you fall over unless you climb up on the railing?

That the "million dollar question" as far as the lawyers are concerned.

 

The fact is, it's easy to get off the ship if one is determined enough or drunk enough. The question is, where does HAL's liability begin and end?

 

Were the railings too short to stop a stumbling passenger? One would hope that Coast Guard regulations, etc. would establish the safety requirements and unless a railing broke, one would assume that HAL passed all required inspections.

 

Should HAL assume liability when passengers become intoxicated? Does the answer to that differ when HAL serves the passenger versus self-service? Can HAL possibly be liable for a suicide depending on the answer to the alcohol question, or does intentionally jumping ship override HAL's liability even if alcohol were copiously served.

 

Or does HAL have some sort of liability for failing to have cameras to record such events so that the truth may never be discovered?

 

Lots of legal issues, but the best place to explore them IMO is in court if it gets to that point, not in an accusatory publicity-seeking blog that is intended to make people wonder, gee, if I sail on HAL, will I too fall overboard?

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Bearnaise

Bearnaise

Posted
Posted
My daughter is afraid to come with us with us on a cruise with her children because her fear is one of them could fall off. I keep assuring her it's not possible. They're 16 and 11.

 

Kids that age could easily jump off, but should also have the wherewithal to know better. They can also step in front of cars in traffic, jump off of high places, etc. Unless one puts a leash on them...

 

But you can certainly assure her that millions of kids of all ages safely cruise - with a line like Disney built completely around that market. One can easily find danger wherever one looks, but life is sure a lot more fun as an adventure.

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vicocala

vicocala

Posted
Posted

The key question is was this a homocide or a suicide or an accident. The FBI can give that kind of closure, one would expect.

 

I personally, even just looking over the railings, touch them lightly and try not to put my weight on them. It is what a normal, prudent person would do which is all HAL is obligated for under the law. JMHO

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  • 2 years later...
Hamilton9

Hamilton9

Posted
Posted

I'm resurrecting this post because I recently returned from a Thanksgiving Week cruise on the Eurodam. We were approaching the Ft Lauderdale when I awoke to the sound of a man screaming. " Pilot I'm Alive" at the top of his lungs. Over and over he screamed those words. At first I thought someone was drunk on the Lido deck since our room was under it. When it didn't stop , I thought someone fell overboard and went out to my balcony to see what all the commotion was about. When I went on the balcony the voice stopped and it was very serene and quiet. No one was out on the balconies watching a rescue. I thought I must have dreamt it. I searched the water and saw a blue light in the water in the front of the ship and thought it was a buoy but as I waited it came closer and was the pilot boat dropping off the pilot. I went back to bed. My heart was beating so hard. When I got home I couldn't stop thinking about the screaming voice. I googled " man overboard -Eurodam and read the story as told on this post. Nothing jumped out at me until the end of the story when I learned that this happened on November 29 during a Thanksgiving cruise. I heard this man screaming in the early morning hours of November 29,2015 as we pulled into Ft Lauderdale . Three years to the date of him going overboard.

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Junonia

Junonia

Posted
Posted

I was on that cruise too. I haven't sailed HAL since Jason Rappe went overboard and I surely wouldn't step foot on the Eurodam again because of the bad memories. Announcements from 4 or 5 am on and his image on the cabin television over and over. His poor wife was moved to another cabin and heavily sedated from what I read on subsequent articles. His accident happened around 3 am and we were sailing somewhere around Half Moon Cay- a port which we ended up skipping to search the waters for at least half a day, maybe more.

 

Earlier that year I was on a RCCL cruise when a crew member jumped to his death just off Nassau. Time spent looking for him with other ships helping was about 2 hours. A stark comparison.

 

It's surreal that it happened the way it did and that you heard a voice when the pilot boat approached. Sometimes I think things happen on ships and we never learn the whole truth.

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cruisinsince75

cruisinsince75

Posted
Posted

Wow! Didn't expect to see this pop back up. Yes, it brings back the memories of this tragedy. Still, to this day I haven't seen news of what actually transpired that night. Ironically, I did hear from one of the other passengers. He was a friend that was joining his daughter onboard that was one of the HAL dancers. It was about two weeks after it happened that we ran across each other.

 

He said, His daughter told him that the staff believed it More than likely was a suicide. Not sure why.

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donaldsc

donaldsc

Posted
Posted
I'm resurrecting this post because I recently returned from a Thanksgiving Week cruise on the Eurodam. We were approaching the Ft Lauderdale when I awoke to the sound of a man screaming. " Pilot I'm Alive" at the top of his lungs. Over and over he screamed those words. At first I thought someone was drunk on the Lido deck since our room was under it. When it didn't stop , I thought someone fell overboard and went out to my balcony to see what all the commotion was about. When I went on the balcony the voice stopped and it was very serene and quiet. No one was out on the balconies watching a rescue. I thought I must have dreamt it. I searched the water and saw a blue light in the water in the front of the ship and thought it was a buoy but as I waited it came closer and was the pilot boat dropping off the pilot. I went back to bed. My heart was beating so hard. When I got home I couldn't stop thinking about the screaming voice. I googled " man overboard -Eurodam and read the story as told on this post. Nothing jumped out at me until the end of the story when I learned that this happened on November 29 during a Thanksgiving cruise. I heard this man screaming in the early morning hours of November 29,2015 as we pulled into Ft Lauderdale . Three years to the date of him going overboard.

 

Are you seriously suggesting that you heard him screaming 3 years after he went overboard. He must be an amazing swimmer to float for 3 years without drowning.

 

DON

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Boytjie

Boytjie

Posted
Posted (edited)
Posting his name on here is a bit of an invasion of privacy for his wife and family, don't you think?

 

His name has been known ever since this happened and has been reported in the news: Jason Rappe.

 

We need to know his name...how else are we gonna know if we found him?

 

It is known.

Edited by Boytjie
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jtl513

jtl513

Posted
Posted
Are you seriously suggesting that you heard him screaming 3 years after he went overboard. He must be an amazing swimmer to float for 3 years without drowning.
Of course not. He would have starved to death in 2 months or so.
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