Doral, Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line has reported that 33-year-old Carnival Liberty passenger Samantha Broberg, who was on board a ship bound for Mexico for a four-day cruise from Galveston, went overboard on Friday, May 13.

Broberg was initially reported missing by members of her traveling party.

After reviewing video surveillance, Carnival determined that Broberg had indeed gone overboard, according to video footage which “appears to show the woman going overboard around 2 a.m.” Prior to this announcement, the ship’s crew conducted a search of the cruise ship in efforts to find Broberg, posting a picture of her in every part of the ship.

As seen in this case, cruise lines have been unable to deter accidents, at times, from occurring. However, there are now reliable technology systems which can quickly detect and respond to these types of emergencies. The 2010 Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act requires cruise ships to now install this technology, such as the Mobtronic system, which is known for its 95% detection accuracy and low false alarm rates.

If you are seeking legal representation to fight for compensation for injuries you have suffered due to the negligence of a cruise ship company, please contact our team at Louis A. Vucci P.A. by calling (786) 375-0344 today to speak to an experienced cruise ship lawyer.

As it was docking in the Port of Baltimore yesterday, the Carnival Pride crashed into a walkway used by passengers to enter and exit the ship, according to WJZ. The walkway collapsed and fell onto three vehicles that were beneath it. Thankfully, no one was injured in the accident; the walkway was not being used and the vehicles were unoccupied at the time of the incident.

Despite the damage it caused, the Carnival Pride sustained only minor damage when it hit the Maryland cruise terminal. According to Port of Baltimore spokesman Richard Scher, “‘It was not, again, a situation where they [Carnival] feel the operation of their ship is compromised at all.’” Though it is not yet apparent what caused the cruise ship to hit the walkway, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Carnival Pride are jointly investigating the accident.

The cruise liner was returning from the Bahamas and set out on another voyage, as scheduled, later that day. While passengers could not use the walkway that would normally be used to enter the cruise, they were able to use an alternate bridge.

Century City, California-based Crystal Cruises will be opening a Miami, Florida office in early 2017 by occupying a 40,000-square-foot space at the Shrine building in downtown Miami, while keeping its Los Angeles offices.

Crystal president and chief executive officer, Edie Rodriguez, stated the company has been operating in a temporary rental space in Miami since last year with 50 employees, but noted that their operations have now grown too large for the space. Crystal’s new site is owned by their parent company, Genting Hong Kong, which is part of the Genting Group, a Malaysian conglomerate.

The Genting Group purchased the downtown Miami site in 2011 – which housed The Miami Herald back then – and bought nearby property, including the Omni Mall. Genting owns 28% of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and is a partner in Universal Studios in Singapore.

We at Louis A. Vucci P.A. effectively handle a wide range of cases pertaining to cruise ship injuries and accidents. Should such an instance happen to you and you would like to gain formal legal representation to file a case against the responsible parties, call our offices today at (786) 375-0344.

A passenger aboard Miami, Florida-based Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas named Bruce Simpson has filed a lawsuit against the cruise line in a Miami federal court in February. In his lawsuit, Simpson claims that the cruise line acted negligently when its employees decided to sail into a storm despite being aware of the inclement weather.

According to Simpson, Royal Caribbean chose to “send the Anthem of the Seas directly into the storm,” a move which placed him and the rest of the passengers on the ship in “grave danger.”

Jason Itkin, Simpson’s legal counsel, echoed Simpson’s sentiment, saying in a statement: “[Royal Caribbean] took a calculated risk when they sent their passengers into the storm, and we don’t think the passengers should be the ones that pay for [their] lack of judgment.”

Passengers posted photographs in their social media accounts of huge waves as seen from windows in the lower cabins and parts of the ship’s upper decks. Royal Caribbean reported that four passengers had been injured during the storm.

The cruise ship left its Cape Liberty, New Jersey port on Sunday, February 7 bound for the Bahamas. Anthem of the Seas soon reversed course, making a return to the New Jersey port on Wednesday, February 10 instead of going to the port in Miami so as to avoid another storm in Jacksonville.

Our attorneys at Louis A. Vucci P.A. represent clients who have suffered serious and preventable injuries aboard cruise ships. To discuss your case and learn about your legal options, call us today at (786) 375-0344.

Texas resident Norma Herrera filed a lawsuit on Monday, December 28 against Doral, Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas, claiming that the negligence of the cruise staff directly caused her fall and the subsequent injuries she sustained on Dec. 29, 2013.

According to the legal complaint, Herrera was exiting a bathroom on the Carnival Magic, a Dream-class cruise ship, when she slipped on a puddle of water on the deck and fell to the floor. Herrera said the positioning of the dangerous water, plus the fact that the cruise ship’s crew should have been aware of the issue and taken the proper precautions, contributed to the fall that resulted in injuries to her head, ankle, leg, and shoulder.

If you have been injured aboard a cruise ship in an accident that could have and should have been avoided, contact Louis A. Vucci P.A. today to speak to a cruise ship injuries attorney about your legal options before moving forward. Call us at (786) 375-0344.

On Tuesday, January 5, United States District Judge Barbara Rothstein overturned a $21.5 million verdict in favor of Springfield, Illinois resident James Hausman, who claimed he was injured during an around-the-world cruise aboard Seattle-based Holland America Line in 2011. Judge Rothstein reconsidered the settlement after Hausman’s former personal assistant, Amy Mizeur, told the court he intentionally deleted email exchanges that could have put his case in jeopardy.

Rothstein found Mizeur’s statement that Hausman deleted emails that should have been handed over to Holland America’s attorneys before the trial credible, noting that “as a witness, [Hausman] came across evasive and untrustworthy” and that he “also seemed to capitalize on his alleged brain injury when it was convenient for him.”

Rothstein added that Hausman “was confused or claimed memory loss when confronted with a question or exhibit that appeared to undermine his claims, and yet was animated or full of information when his testimony supported his case.”

If you have suffered an injury during what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation aboard a cruise ship, our legal team at Louis A. Vucci P.A., is prepared to help you pursue compensation for your suffering. To discuss your situation with our injury attorneys today, call (786) 375-0344.

A man who worked for Carnival Cruise as an electrician was killed in an elevator accident over the weekend. According to reports on KFOR.com, the electrician was working in the elevator shaft when the elevator descended. Carnival has not commented on the situation beyond stating that a crew member had died and that the company extended their condolences and support to the family of the deceased.

The scene of the accident was first discovered by passengers on the cruise who filmed footage of blood streaming down the elevator door. Apparently, there was also a passenger inside of the elevator at the time of the accident. Soon after the scene was discovered, crew members closed off the area. Though an investigation is reportedly underway, it is not clear why the elevator was not deactivated prior to the accident.

Two passengers of Miami, Florida-based Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Summit lost their lives while sixteen others sustained injuries, two of them critical, after the tour bus they were riding in crashed on Sunday, December 6 in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Reports noted that the excursion bus apparently lost control near Round Hill on the Cane Garden Bay Hill.

A statement quoting the Office of Premier of the British Virgin Islands Orlando Smith said that the Royal Virgin Islands police force, the Royal Island fire and rescue department, emergency medical responders, members of the British Virgin Island Tourist Board, and cruise ship personnel from the Celebrity Summit cruise line responded to the scene of the accident. The victims were transported to Peebles Hospital for treatment.

Celebrity Cruises said of the incident that “the bus was independently operated, and not part of any Celebrity-sponsored shore excursion…We will refer questions about the accident and its investigation to local authorities.”

The spouse of a man who went overboard and is now presumed dead a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is fighting with the company about the circumstances of his death.

Bernardo Elbaz’s fall was captured in a chilling video, after he had apparently fallen from the seventh deck of the ship onto a lifeboat one deck below. The video shows him clinging to a metal support beam as other passengers watched and screamed until he eventually lost his grip and falls overboard.

Elbaz’s husband, Erik Elbaz, insists that Bernardo had jumped to his death because of how devastated and upset he was for repeatedly being told anti-gay slurs by crew members. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office has ruled the death a suicide, citing a reported domestic disturbance on board.

Erik Elbaz’s lawyer, Michael Winkleman, asserts that the man didn’t jump when he went overboard, and that the video proves that both of Bernardo Elbaz’s falls were results of failures by Royal Caribbean staff.

Royal Caribbean disputed this assertion in a statement that said, “The attorney’s disproven claims that our security staff had any culpability in this tragedy are shameful and offensive.”

Attorney Louis Vucci of Louis A. Vucci P.A., recently represented Teresa Di Trapani, a former Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. crew member, after Trapani claimed that the company failed to provide prompt and adequate medical care in relation to her kidney failure.

Specifically, Trapani alleged that the company failed to perform proper diagnostic testing after she sought treatment for hypertension and proteinuria, which can be early indicators of kidney failure. When her conditioned worsened, she sought treatment while the cruise ship was docked in Portugal, though she was not accompanied by a dock agent, and, when neither she nor the on-board physicians could read the Portuguese notes on her medical charts, she was sent to her room to rest. Two days later, she had to be taken to the hospital in Spain where she was diagnosed with blood clots in her right kidney.

Even when she was able to return home to Canada several months later, Trapani had to undergo a partial nephrectomy to remove a tumor in her kidney.

Though the procedure was successful, Trapani suffered additional complications that were directly related to this procedure. On top of the considerable costs associated with her care, Trapani also lost a considerable amount of income from the cruise liner as she could not to return to work.

At Louis A. Vucci P.A., we are pleased to announce that a jury in Miami has ruled in favor of Trapani and awarded her a $1.9 million verdict.