cruise ship lawyers

Published on: December 13, 2024

Cruise Passenger Reports to Miami-Dade Police Rape by Crew Members. What to Know.

Police are investigating rape allegations after an MSC Cruises passenger claims she was raped by multiple crew members on a recent voyage.

The woman, a 44-year-old from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who was not named in the article, reported the incident to police on Dec. 7 when her ship returned to PortMiami. The woman alleges that while traveling alone for a week-long cruise she mistakenly mixed her anti-anxiety medication with alcohol and went to the ship’s buffet. The woman said she planned to take the food back with her to her cabin to eat before going to bed.

A waiter allegedly found her and took her plate to her room, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Instead of leaving, the woman said the waiter lingered before raping her. The next day, the woman said what room she was staying in while speaking with a different crewmember.

Published on: November 18, 2024

Over 100 people sue after cruise ship illness. Now, the cruise line is being accused of downplaying the numbers.

By Leesfield & Partners

More than 100 passengers who traveled on P&O’s Ventura, a ship owned by Carnival Cruise Line, have filed suit after they say they got sick on board.

Attorneys for the passengers claim there were “repeated outbreaks” of illness on the ship between April and June. About 519 passengers reported for weeks about their symptoms of norovirus, a stomach bug that causes inflammation in the stomach and intestines and is highly contagious. The first outbreak allegedly took place in May during a two-week cruise around the Canary Islands.

In reporting from the BBC it was alleged that Carnival communicated that less than 1% of passengers experienced symptoms while Southampton health officials claimed the number was closer to 12% of passengers.

Published on: November 15, 2024

Photos Show Fallout of Bad Weather Damage to Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

By Leesfield & Partners

Photos were published online of the damage to a cruise ship that was hit by storm-force winds while sailing from Spain to Miami.

The frightening voyage resulted in the injury of at least one passenger who will be allowed to evacuate the ship for additional medical care on shore in Las Palmas, Spain. No other details, including the condition of the passenger, were immediately available Wednesday.

Passengers reported to CBS news that their captain said over the ship’s intercom speakers that the ship was impacted by winds that had gone from 46 mph to over 80 mph.

Published on: November 12, 2024

Hurricane-Force Winds Injure Cruise Ship Passenger. What Do These Companies Owe Their Passengers?

By Leesfield & Partners

Hurricane-Force Winds Injure Cruise Ship Passenger. What Do These Companies Owe Their Passengers?

A Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines passenger was injured after their ship was hit by forceful winds, according to USA Today.

The ship, Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas, “experienced sudden movement” on Nov. 7 as the ship headed to Miami, Florida, from Barcelona, Spain. The incident happened as the ship sailed through Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The passenger is being disembarked for additional medical attention, a cruise line spokesperson told reporters.

Published on: October 30, 2024

Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease Linked Back to Two Cruise Ships, CDC says.

By Leesfield & Partners

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report detailing two separate outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease linked to cruise ships on different cruise lines.

The report’s findings say that the two ships, which were referred to as only “Ship A” and “Ship B,” had outdoor, private hot tubs on balconies. These hot tubs, according to the CDC, were the most likely cause of the outbreaks. Cases began springing up in November 2022, resulting in at least 12 passengers exposed to the disease.

Ship A, which had cases of Legionnaires’ Disease from November 2022 until April 2024, had a total of eight cases on board. Five of these cases stemmed from the same 14-day cruise in November 2022. Two other cases were identified from August-September 2023. In April 2024, one additional patient was identified. Both patients who were exposed in 2023 told health officials they were staying in cabins with hot tubs on the balconies. Of these cases, six were hospitalized.

Published on: September 17, 2024

Boy Dies on Cruise Docked in Texas After Falling from Interior Balcony

By Leesfield & Partners

The FBI is investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy who plummeted to his death from an interior balcony aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

The boy died on Sept. 7 while traveling on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas for a seven-night cruise in the Western Caribbean. The ship was on its way to dock in Galveston, Texas, when the incident occurred. The boy fell into the ship’s Central Park area which the company describes online as a “gathering place” for passengers showcasing an array of plant life.

Investigators have not released any official details on how the boy fell.

Published on: August 30, 2024

From a ‘Massive Brawl’ to Financial Crimes: A Look at Recent Criminal and Dangerous Activity Aboard Cruise Ships

By Leesfield & Partners

Four passengers on a four-day cruise from Miami face charges and others aboard Carnival Cruise Lines’ Freedom were accused of fighting, according to news outlets.

Two fights broke out during one of Carnival’s Freedom voyages from Port Canaveral. The first alleged fight took place Saturday in the ship’s nightclub between at least four people. When the ship docked in Bimini the next day, all four were escorted off the ship with their parties.

The second fight happened on one of the upper decks of the ship and included several people jumping into the brawl. It is unclear what started either fight. In footage of the second fight, a security guard can be seen stepping in to stop any further violence after much of the group that was brawling had already separated.

Published on: August 23, 2024

Man In Coma For 42 Days After Seeing Florida Doctor Is Eerily Similar To Cruise Ship Cases. A Look Back At Previous Medical Malpractice In The Cruise Ship Industry

By Leesfield & Partners

A Tampa doctor is under scrutiny and faces formal review from the Florida Department of Health after a patient who went to him for a cough and sore throat ended up in a 42-day coma.

The initial doctor’s visit happened in 2019 when the 75-year-old man said he had body aches, a cough and a sore throat. He returned 10 days later with “complaints of a deep cough” and “chest pains,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald. A complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health states that the doctor at the center of the incident did not examine the patient but prescribed prednisone, an Albuterol inhaler and Tramadol.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of the patient claims the doctor was not in the office that day and prescribed these medicines based on what he was told by an employee at the medical center. The patient returned a day later, complaining of increased chest pain. When he went to the hospital, two weeks after the first doctor’s visit, it was determined he had pneumonia and was in septic shock.