Costa's Compensation Offer MERGED THREAD WITH COSTA LEGAL OFFER & 2 OTHER THREADS

[freagan]

As part of the announcement Costa stated:

 

"Costa also has pledged not to deduct from this sum any amount paid by any insurance policy stipulated by guests. In addition, the company will return all goods stored in cabin safes, where retrieval is possible."

 

My question is would the insurance companies be willing to make the same pledge and allow any claims for lost of damaged items.

[mickey_d_mouse]

lmao merge these after I answer twice....................

[mickey_d_mouse]

As part of the announcement Costa stated:

 

"Costa also has pledged not to deduct from this sum any amount paid by any insurance policy stipulated by guests. In addition, the company will return all goods stored in cabin safes, where retrieval is possible."

 

My question is would the insurance companies be willing to make the same pledge and allow any claims for lost of damaged items.

 

My isurance company has stated it will only pay if Costa do not or the gap.....

 

My cabin safe had 800euro and 2000AED and $150AUD and probbably a very soggy asus eee pad. I hadnt unpacked my jewellery or half of my luggage we were going to do that when we went back to our cabin, hmm we never got there.

[reallyitsmema]

My isurance company has stated it will only pay if Costa do not or the gap.....

 

My cabin safe had 800euro and 2000AED and $150AUD and probbably a very soggy asus eee pad. I hadnt unpacked my jewellery or half of my luggage we were going to do that when we went back to our cabin, hmm we never got there.

Do you have a trusted lawyer at home that you can discuss the offer with? Having someone you have dealt with in the past might help with the decision to accept or ask for a counteroffer.

[KatetheWanderer]

I have received three emails from the lawyers I spoke to in the UK one for myself one for John and one for Katharine all urging us not to take the deal.

 

I have also been contacted by some of the other survivors who are also wondering what we should do.

 

To me it may all hinge on what they mean by transport costs, when I first saw this in La republica yesterday they were stating around $3000 for each person for the cruise costs and transport. Thats fine for the italians who drive their cars to the port and also get the cruises cheaper than other nationalities. My Transport costs are nearly $10,000US if you include my airfares to Australia + the cost of the emergency ticket home.

 

There are also the medical costs so far these are over $10,000US and the Psychologist I have booked in to see is $225AUD per session, and I am still unsure if John and Katharine may also need to see him.

 

So whilst the idea of getting this over and sone with in 7 days is extremly alluring, I have no idea what to do.

 

I suppose in the back of my mind I think why should I settle whilst others may get so much more, but I dont want to go through some prolonged legal battle that could take years.

 

It may all come down to what they mean by transportation costs, and if we agree and they find my things will I get them back as well, people keep telling me the camera memory cards may still be able to be read even after being in the water so long. Thats the thing I want most we did have a wonderful three weeks before this I want the camera so I can remember the good and forget the bad.

 

PS still needed a little white pill to sleep last night after all of this came into the media and the emails from fellow survivors maybe if I settle I will sleep.

 

Oh and PSS I received a cheque from my Travel agent yesterday for the cost of the cruise.

 

I'm a lawyer who has done corporate and insurance defense. Mostly trial work and never maritime or Italian law. But on this forum, I'm just a cruiser so no legal advice is offered or intended. This case would not fall into any of my areas of expertise. As a fellow cruiser only who wishes you well, I suspect that the offer Costa is making is lowball to see who will bite. It should not be taken as an insult. For some cases, that amount might be appropriate. Maybe for people who live in Italy and didn't have so far to travel. Discussions and calculations over damages and loss are always case specific: every passenger's legal posture will be different. You should rely solely on the advice of reputable retained counsel who will know what type of damages and out-of-pocket losses you are entitled to recover. You should not be in a rush. Lots of issues still for the lawyers on both sides to work out in terms of jurisdiction, etc. To the extent you can, document your losses while they are fresh in your mind and include everything. Carefully log your emotional state in terms of adverse effects on daily activities in the event that mental injury damages are recoverable.

 

Be careful of retaining attorneys based on mailed solicitations. Make sure you do your homework to get the best counsel you can. And remember, the terms of their fee are often negotiable. Just like with many realtors, you do not have to agree to a set percentage of their take. Feel free to dicker. It's a clear liability case so you are in a good position to negotiate with prospective applicant lawyers on how much they will take out of your damages/loss recovery as a fee depending on the stage of the case when resolution is achieved. A law firm might agree to a particular fee for one passenger and then confidentially enter into a different fee for another passenger. If you join a class action suit, the rules change.

 

So glad you and yours made it home. Best wishes.

[G.M.T.]

My isurance company has stated it will only pay if Costa do not or the gap.....

 

My cabin safe had 800euro and 2000AED and $150AUD and probbably a very soggy asus eee pad. I hadnt unpacked my jewellery or half of my luggage we were going to do that when we went back to our cabin, hmm we never got there.

 

Michelle,

 

I do not know if you saw this part from Costa:

 

"Finally, the line will offer a program for psychological assistance to any passengers who request it."

 

Here is the full article:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4716

 

Whatever you decide, I wish you and your amily all the very best.

 

Ron

[Crusing Nut]

There is no guarantee of course. But the more severely CCL corp and Costa are punished the more likely that they will create a climate of best practice in the future - so that they will not get hit in the pocketbook again. And the pocketbook seems a key deterrent.

 

 

Oh come on, people are acting like this was all planned! "The more severly they are punished, the more likely they will create a climate of best practice?" How in the world is that going to control every person who is on the crew of any given ship? What happens if all the procedures are correct and it was entirely the crew that failed, especially the captain? Carnival Corp or Costa executives didn't tell the captain to ram the ship into a rock and then abandon the ship and passengers! Costa has already lost a half of BILLION in the ship alone, you don't believe that is costly? Out of pocket expenses will be at least 90 million (IIRC) They had a loss of at least 32 lives and yet the more money paid out will control the best practice in the future? I do not follow that logic.

 

You had a captain, who by all reports abandoned the ship. We know that in the PAST, Costa allowed and authorized a sail by. We DO NOT know if this time if it had been authorized at all. This captain is facing man-slaughter charges for each person that has died, and rightly so.

 

But what if Costa instructed the captain to get closer to that shore before he gave the abandon ship order? Would that have been the right thing to do? I don't know, who here wants to play God.

 

What I do know is that out of 4200 passengers and over 1000 crew, 32 are missing/have been found deceased and all the rest made it to shore either by the lifeboats or helicopters.

 

I do know that the family in Wisconsin who has been praying for their mother and father to be survivors deserve more than anyone that survived the grounding. I do know that the mother who is waiting for her 5 year old daughter to be found, deserves more than any survivor gets.

[momtoabowhead]

My isurance company has stated it will only pay if Costa do not or the gap.....

 

My cabin safe had 800euro and 2000AED and $150AUD and probbably a very soggy asus eee pad. I hadnt unpacked my jewellery or half of my luggage we were going to do that when we went back to our cabin, hmm we never got there.

 

JMO, If I were you, I wouldn't discuss your possible case in an open forum like this.

 

It is usually a good idea to keep quiet and hire a trusted attorney who can help you navigate your compensation.

 

Best of luck.

[mickey_d_mouse]

Michelle,

 

I do not know if you saw this part from Costa:

 

"Finally, the line will offer a program for psychological assistance to any passengers who request it."

 

Here is the full article:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4716

 

Whatever you decide, I wish you and your amily all the very best.

 

Ron

 

Lets hope the cruise critic people have the terms right but I will believe it when I see it.

[UCSD]

Oh, many lawyers urge victims to sue, to exercise their rights. that is my reading here.

while many believe this tragedy can be avoided, so, future cruise is likely to be still safe (yes, I heard someone said, this won't happen to Prince...)

One thing I am afraid is, there will be no cheap cruise as I agree safe cruise is more important.

[mickey_d_mouse]

JMO, If I were you, I wouldn't discuss your possible case in an open forum like this.

 

It is usually a good idea to keep quiet and hire a trusted attorney who can help you navigate your compensation.

 

Best of luck.

 

I have shared everything on here from the minute we got to the Hilton Garden Inn and the support, advice and help I have gained on here had made this ordeal so much easier to bear.

 

Hmm wonder of the compensation offer has a gag order attached then I can no longer type to you...............................

[Crusing Nut]

I did post on the other website so I will keep it short here.

 

To me it may depend on what they mean by transport costs, some news reports state that it is transport to and from the port, some just getting home.

 

Facts

1. Travel insurance will not pay out unless Costa do not pay the amount you can PROVE you had on board, our travel insurance was for $20K in belongings so if I take this travel isnurance pays nothing.

2. Transport costs if it is only emergency transport home I will collect from Costa the $1911.10 that my travel insurance paid and then have to refund it to the travel insurance company.

3. If transport includes my airfares and cars to the airport and the one I paid for to take me back ( whcih I didnt use) + the hotel in Dubai I paid for and didnt use then you are looking at about another $10,000US.

4. So far the cost of my holiday plus what I lost and medical costs so far total around $44,000AUD with the current Euro exchange rate the 11Euro per person = $40,000 + cruise refund of $2,961 ( I already have a cheque for this not cashed as yet) does not cover the cost of my ruined holiday + what I lost

5 However if they also refund me the medical costs and the airfares + emergency airfare I will receive and additional $10,000AUD

 

which would mean I have after returning the money to the travel insurance man $7,000AUD to pay for on going counselling etc.

 

add that to no holiday memories and what we have been through.....

 

 

As far as any medical, I would want a deal that leaves future costs opened. I would want to be paid all of my costs and losses. Then I would settle for the 14,000 grand for the suffering. But keep in mind these costs would have to be proved. Costa has already had people trying to make false claims against them if what I have read is correct.

 

May the nightmares you and your family are suffering, leave you soon.

[Crusing Nut]

I have shared everything on here from the minute we got to the Hilton Garden Inn and the support, advice and help I have gained on here had made this ordeal so much easier to bear.

 

Hmm wonder of the compensation offer has a gag order attached then I can no longer type to you...............................

 

 

Any settlement might have a clause in it stating no one is to say what the settlement is to anyone.

[KatetheWanderer]

I have shared everything on here from the minute we got to the Hilton Garden Inn and the support, advice and help I have gained on here had made this ordeal so much easier to bear.

 

Hmm wonder of the compensation offer has a gag order attached then I can no longer type to you...............................

 

I just saw this Washington Post article that mentioned some law firms. I wanted to pass it on--- http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/costa-offers-14460-per-passenger-in-deal-with-consumer-groups-for-ruined-cruise-trauma/2012/01/27/gIQAzQXrUQ_story.html

 

I agree that you probably don't want to share too much on the internet and Facebook if you have an account. Everything you place on the net is easy to find. It's good that sharing is helping but I agree with the poster that you should be careful and your future attorney will probably advise you the same.

[Tranquil Waters]

I also have to wonder if this is such a "fair" offer why the passengers are only being given 7 days to sign up???

 

If Costa/CCL is really being so fair why not give passengers a reasonable amount of time to make this decision. At the very least these people have been through a harrowing experience and they deserve time to feel like they are making a good decision - not just lucky to be alive! How about some real time to settle in, talk to a trusted advisor, time to assess damages and losses. A month or 60 days would be fair and timely by corporate timetables.

 

This 7 day pressure is a red flag to me. If someone wanted to sign up immediately they could. But to make this such a rush - why?

[Taxguy77]

The settlement might be fair for some, but if it includes personal belongings, it might be way too low for many people. A few nice pieces of jewelry would constitute $14k. Also, unless you were onboard I don't think anybody can say whether or not the amount is reasonable for potential psychological problems. I've already had a dream about being on a sinking cruise ship just from watching the news!

 

DW watch is insured for that much! How about all our clothes, etc.?

 

Would you jump into the ocean from a big ship , IN THE DARK, for $14,000?:confused:

Not sure I would, even if I could see the rocks, and I can swim and am not afraid of the ocean.

[Taxguy77]

In context of the American legal system many people would view $14K as peanuts for what the survivors went through. We just had a local case where a patron at a restaurant successfully sued the owner for $20K for spilling warm tea on them (without any medical injury). The lawyer's fee was $14K; the injured party got $6K

 

My wife one time was pulling into a parking space right when the driver of the neighboring car opened their door. Despite claiming whiplash and everything, this person was not injured and was paid $25K from the insurance company (Five years later, this person also went to jail for pulling this fraud over 20 times).

 

The problem with the U.S. legal system is that civil lawyers "game the system"; they will launch 20 injury suits at no upfront cost to the plantiff. Expect 1 in 20 suits to be successful to provide a big payout; after this they normally collect 2/3 of the money won as the fee.

This could be changed if the U.S. adopted a U.K type of system in which you had the pay the defendents costs if you lost. This would stop the endless frivilous injury suits and the "gaming of the system".

I can't speak for any of the survivors, but I view the compensation offer from Costa as a good starting point and think they were wise to come out with it asap. I will note that survivors probably have the choice of taking the offer and getting money quickly, or opting out & joining a class action suit where it will probably take them 5 to 8 years to see any money.

 

AMEN!

We'er trying in Texas!

[Taxguy77]

For the uninjured passengers I think this is a very generous offer. This on top of their cruise, air, medical bills? I would be satisfied with that.

 

How much would you want to jump over the rail of a cruiseship after dark within sight of land?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[pcsanity]

Being an American lawyer I'd like to know who has a fee agreement for 50% of the recovery. I've never seen one. While another poster posits that civil lawyers "game the system," my experience has been that this litigation will only make the defense lawyers a lot richer. The procedural issues (venue, arbitration, class certification, etc.) will involve so much time and work that the individual cases will have to be worth high six figures for these cases to be profitable -- relative to the time expended on the litigation -- for the passenger's lawyer.

 

 

When a contingency case goes to trial, it is very common to see the % go from 33 to 50 plus fees.

[Tranquil Waters]

Oh come on, people are acting like this was all planned! "The more severly they are punished, the more likely they will create a climate of best practice?" How in the world is that going to control every person who is on the crew of any given ship? What happens if all the procedures are correct and it was entirely the crew that failed, especially the captain? Carnival Corp or Costa executives didn't tell the captain to ram the ship into a rock and then abandon the ship and passengers! Costa has already lost a half of BILLION in the ship alone, you don't believe that is costly? Out of pocket expenses will be at least 90 million (IIRC) They had a loss of at least 32 lives and yet the more money paid out will control the best practice in the future? I do not follow that logic.

 

You had a captain, who by all reports abandoned the ship. We know that in the PAST, Costa allowed and authorized a sail by. We DO NOT know if this time if it had been authorized at all. This captain is facing man-slaughter charges for each person that has died, and rightly so.

 

But what if Costa instructed the captain to get closer to that shore before he gave the abandon ship order? Would that have been the right thing to do? I don't know, who here wants to play God.

 

What I do know is that out of 4200 passengers and over 1000 crew, 32 are missing/have been found deceased and all the rest made it to shore either by the lifeboats or helicopters.

 

I do know that the family in Wisconsin who has been praying for their mother and father to be survivors deserve more than anyone that survived the grounding. I do know that the mother who is waiting for her 5 year old daughter to be found, deserves more than any survivor gets.

 

There is a big difference between something being planned and allowing/creating a climate that allowed it to happen - ie allowing fly bys close to islands that are not on planned route and perhaps stressing the bottome line so much that a captain would take cost of abandoning ship into the decision to call same.

 

Every business is cost conscious but businesses can and do vary on where they place importance of today's bottom line in relation to safety issues and concerns. A hefty financial punishment helps insure that safety is given its proper place in the hierarchy.

[momtoabowhead]

I have shared everything on here from the minute we got to the Hilton Garden Inn and the support, advice and help I have gained on here had made this ordeal so much easier to bear.

 

Hmm wonder of the compensation offer has a gag order attached then I can no longer type to you...............................

 

If posting is helping, do your best to remain anonymous to protect your case.

[at_nyc]

I also have to wonder if this is such a "fair" offer why the passengers are only being given 7 days to sign up???

They may wish you make up your mind in 7 days. But if you go back to them in 10, I'm pretty sure they'll take it. Because if they do, you have no choice but to go to the lawyer. The cruise line will spend more on lawyers fee than this low ball offer.

 

You have the card. No need to rush.

[Taxguy77]

I also have to wonder if this is such a "fair" offer why the passengers are only being given 7 days to sign up???

 

If Costa/CCL is really being so fair why not give passengers a reasonable amount of time to make this decision. At the very least these people have been through a harrowing experience and they deserve time to feel like they are making a good decision - not just lucky to be alive! How about some real time to settle in, talk to a trusted advisor, time to assess damages and losses. A month or 60 days would be fair and timely by corporate timetables.

 

This 7 day pressure is a red flag to me. If someone wanted to sign up immediately they could. But to make this such a rush - why?

 

You know the answer! I think it's the correct one !!

A good sign of a scam is "You have to act NOW!".

[freagan]

I also have to wonder if this is such a "fair" offer why the passengers are only being given 7 days to sign up???

 

Where are you getting that? It isn't in the Costa release.

[Grumpy100]

I think that $14,000 is a fair settlement and then reimbursement for all,their other costs. I think it shouldminclude their air fare if it does not. Costa did not plan this and there is no way that the company will survive if each person gets one million dollars each. If you were involved in a plane'mishap I don't know what the settlement would be I guess it would depend on how bad it is.

I think they should offer psychological'services for all the passengers. I wonder if any of the passengers will ever cruise with any cruiaeline ever again. It will be interesting to see.