Triumph Fallout: Passengers Sue, Ship Regulations Under Fire

In the wake of the Carnival Triumph’s stranding at sea last week, two members of Congress are calling for investigations, at least two passengers have filed lawsuits, and personal injury attorneys are advertising their services in hopes of finding others who want to sue.

The spectacle of passengers spending five days on a disabled megaship triggered a flurry of arguably overwrought media coverage, in turn raising questions about the need for tighter regulations and stronger legal protections for cruise passengers, who pretty much sign away their rights to litigation in cruise contracts.

‘Too big to bail’
The Triumph episode, which was triggered by an engine room fire apparently sparked by a fuel line leak, is also raising doubts about the trend toward ever-larger cruise ships.

In an article headlined “Too Big to Bail,” an op-ed columnist in the Boston Globe stated that the lesson of the Triumph fiasco “is about the size of the boats, which are so large that evacuation becomes only a last resort.”

The writer also lamented the meaningful legal recourse for passengers and asserted that “just as our laws do not absolve the airline industry from for a plane accident, the cruise industry shouldn’t escape unscathed from an incident like this one.”

Calling for more cruise oversight, an Associated Press article stated that consumers are ill-equipped to assess the health and safety records of the ships they are about to board. It blamed “the byzantine maze of maritime rules and regulations, fragmented oversight and a patchwork quilt of nations that do business with cruise lines.”

Congressional investigation
Two congress members have called for investigation into the Carnival Triumph incident – Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D.-W. Va.) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D.-Calif.).

Rockefeller held a Commerce Committee hearing last spring on cruise industry safety, in the wake of the Costa Concordia accident. He is now seeking a review of the Carnival Triumph incident as well as others.

“This horrible example involving the Carnival Triumph is just the latest example in a long string of serious and troubling incidents involving cruise ships,” Rockefeller wrote in a letter to U.S. Coast Guard Robert J. Papp, Jr.

Referring to the Concordia hearing, he continued, “As I remarked then, the [cruise ships] seem to have two lives: one is at port, where the Coast Guard can monitor their operations; the other is at sea where, it appears, once they are beyond three nautical miles at sea, the world is theirs.”

Calls for investigation
In a separate action, Matsui is asking for hearings on how well cruise ships are prepared to handle emergencies.

“The recent catastrophe with Triumph, a Carnival cruise ship, is just one more mishap for an industry that touts itself as providing safe, family-friend vacations,” she wrote in a letter to the head of the House Committee on Transportation and Oversight.

“A thorough investigation must be conducted immediately and oversight procedures must be implemented to ensure that a similar accident does not happen in the future.”

Passengers file lawsuits
Despite the fact that Carnival, like other cruise lines, requires passengers to sign comprehensive waivers protecting it from litigation, at least two passengers on the ill-fated Triumph voyage have filed lawsuits, apparently not satisfied with Carnival’s $500 payout, reimbursement for the cruise and voucher for a future cruise.

One of the litigants is Lisa Williams, a Houston woman seeking $75,000 from Carnival. She told ABC news that the cruise caused her to become dehydrated and require emergency care. The other suit is being brought by Cassie Terry of Brazoria County, Texas. She told ABC News that she is seeking compensation for “emotional harm, anxiety, nervousness and the loss of enjoyment of life.”

Lawyers jump in
For other Triumph passengers who want to file suits, there is no shortage of personal injury attorneys ready to assist them. Miami-based maritime law firm Lincoln, Margulies, Alsina & Winkelman, P.A. has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of passengers who were on board the ship.

In a press release, the law firm said that “the conditions Triumph passengers were subject onboard after the vessel was impaled by a fire were hazardous to their health.” The firm maintains that, despite waivers signed by passengers, there are sufficient grounds for them to receive more than the “meager compensation” Carnival is offering.

Another personal injury attorney, New Orleans-based Mike Gertner, is promoting his services on his website, where he states: “If you were a passenger on the Triumph during this fiasco, I invite you to call me toll-free . . . so we can discuss the options you have.”