Miami Injury Lawyer Blog
Five crewmembers aboard a British-operated cruise ship died Sunday while attempting to perform a safety drill in a lifeboat. Three other crewmembers suffered relatively minor injuries. None of the almost one-thousand five-hundred passengers were involved or injured in the accident.
The Thomson Majesty cruise ship docked at the island port of Santa Cruz early Sunday morning. It was scheduled to depart with its 1,498 passengers and 594 crewmembers at 3 p.m. for Funchal located on the mid-Atlantic island of Madeira. At around 10:30 a.m., crewmembers engaged in a safety drill that involved lowering a lifeboat into the water with crewmembers aboard. The lifeboat was successfully lowered into the water, but things took a turn for the worst as the boat was raised back up to the deck about an hour later. As the lifeboat ascended, “a cable holding it snapped and a hook holding the lifeboat on a second cable gave way.” This sent the lifeboat plunging nearly 65 feet into the water upside down.
An alarm was sounded and divers raced to the lifeboat. The divers recovered four bodies and were unsuccessful in reviving a fifth person who had stopped breathing. The three injured crewmen were transported by ambulance to a local hospital. Carnival festivities to be held on the island Sunday were cancelled, but were to go ahead as planned on Monday.
Cruise ship lifeboat accident kills 5 in Spain, www.miamiherald.com February 10, 2013
Many family members and friends of the lost crewmen will be deeply affected by this tragedy for a long time to come. While it is very important that crewmen aboard cruise ships are well-versed in all safety procedures, it is equally as important that the equipment the crewman are using in their safety drills be without defect. The lifeboats and cables that hold the lifeboats should be built in a way to prevent tragedies like the one that occurred here. The companies that manufactured these products could be liable for these wrongful deaths caused by product defect. The cruise ship injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona have over two decades of maritime law experience. The Miami boating accident attorneys understand the complex laws and issues that pertain to cruise ship injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury while aboard a cruise ship, call (305) 661-2008 for your free consultation today!
The Miami product liability attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types of personal injury cases throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury claims, including wrongful death, defective products, medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents and construction site injuries. Call today and let our family take care of your family!