Concordia customers suing for all of this money, be happy your alive!!!

[Crusin6]

Oh you're right, I love the quote from Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does." You are absolutely correct in saying that Casey will screw up again, with people like her and OJ, it's 100% inevitable. My point was that, because our justice system is so completely screwed up, 2 murders walked, and a woman won a kajillion dollars for spilling hot coffee on herself. As a result, we are sending the message that our justice system is a joke and people will sue for ridiculous stuff. The special room in Hell of course, is reserved for the lawyers who talk these people into believing what they are doing is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A) right and B) winnable. The lawyer representing the people from the Concordia who lost nothing but personal belongings will no doubt get the Presidential Suite therein :rolleyes:

 

 

 

If I had to swim to shore...or be in a situation wher the lifeboats couldnt be lowered and if crew tlod me to return to my cabin...and i sstupidly did..which i never would have done btw.....and my entire family including my young children were with me..you can bet i would Not be part of any class action suit........I would have my own lawyer.

[H82seaUgo]

The ship did not capsize, it rolled over to one side and sank in shallow water. If it had capsized all that would have been visible would have been the bottom of the hull and none of the superstructure of the ship. Think the Poseidon Adventure, that was a capsizing.

 

you should look up the definition of the word.

[ib4cruzn]

Captain goes to Jail and Cruise line fined.... Period

 

Fined by whom? And the money goes where?

 

CCL was clearly at fault and should pay the piper. There should also be punitive damages because of the inexcusable cowardice of the crew.

[klmorg]

It is difficult to judge unless one has actually lived through that awful tragedy. We have no idea what these people went through, what they lost, etc.

 

I am often appalled at our litigious society, but in the case... I believe the compensation offered might not be sufficient. Could never say for sure unless I had lived it, and am thankful I did not.

[Crusin6]

Certainly. I've already stated that.

 

But I certainly don't, or can't, know what my mind would be doing after I went through this experience to know what I would be pursuing in terms of compensation.

 

If it felt nothing more than going through a live lifeboat drill, I would probably be very happy with the $14,500.

 

Add panic to that activity? The price Tag goes up

 

 

 

significantly.[/QU

 

You forgot to add blatant incompetancy by costa and their officers..and probably much of the crew

[H82seaUgo]

Captain goes to Jail and Cruise line fined.... Period

 

huh? passengers get nothing, and the government gets a payout? that's your recommendation?

[5waldos]

Punitive damages have been mentioned- and I agree. Especially if it is found that the Captain had previous accidents due to negligence, which is being reported, and if Costa knew that the ship, or was encouraging the ship, to go off course and sail nearby islands for the enjoyment of the passengers or the islanders. It is one way of making very clear to a company that taking risky actions can lead to serious consequences.

[Crusin6]

Taking a few associate's level classes in criminal justice or legal studies does not make one a lawyer, nor does having an interest in the law or even getting a high score on the LSAT. None of that gets a person into law school, nor does going to law school inherently qualify one to pass the bar exam and practice law.

 

Little Miss, your first post said you don't understand. Your subsequent posts are your opinion and you're certainly entitled to have an opinion. But you definitely don't understand the law and although people have attempted to explain the law to you, you still don't understand it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think she is doing research in online social behavior and we are her subjects.

 

 

 

 

 

Clearly, you don't agree with how the law works. Fine. You've drawn a few very strange responses out of the woodwork to vindicate your position ("No matter how you spice it up with sensational statements, the Costa Concordia simply pulled into port, disembarked passengers, and isn't able to leave port yet.").

 

But you aren't just stating an opinion, you are taunting people. Did I read correctly that you are a clinical therapist? Why are you baiting people in a public forum and minimizing what fellow passengers have gone through?

I think she is doing research in online social behavior...and that is why she is baiting us

[sparks1093]

The ship did not capsize, it rolled over to one side and sank in shallow water. If it had capsized all that would have been visible would have been the bottom of the hull and none of the superstructure of the ship. Think the Poseidon Adventure, that was a capsizing.

 

If the Concordia had been in deeper water all you would have been able to see would have been the bottom of the hull.

[LHP]

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that no matter what the lawyers tell them,

 

these individuals will still only get what they would have gotten without the lawyers....only now, they will be giving up 1/3rd of that for attorney fees.

[sparks1093]

Personally (with maybe a few exceptions, lost of loved one) I think it is fair.

 

Same here, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone trying to get more.

[a3593]

[COLOR=black]

Several years ago a woman sued McDonalds because she spilled HOT coffee on herself and got BURNED. She won something like a kajillion dollars over something that ridiculous. So, the short answer to your question is, yes, people are that greedy. In their defense, the joke called the US Justice system makes it very easy to sue and easier still to win. Don't think it's a joke? Casey Anthony and OJ walked. Case closed.

 

Well, I agree, our justice system is for the most part a joke.

 

Just to clarify, Stella Liebeck, the plaintiff in the McDonalds case, didn’t just "sue because she spilled hot coffee and got burned." She suffered third degree burns. Her skin on her thighs was burned completely off. This caused medical bills costing thousands of which McDonalds only offered $800 towards. This was AFTER they were approached--they did NOT offer of their own volition. Yes she won millions, but it was whittled down to only about $600k, of which I'm sure her lawyers took 40%.

 

The fact that the coffee was so hot that it caused third degree burns is in the legal world a tort-or a wrong. McDonalds committed a tort by allowing the coffee to be so hot that it would cause harm.

 

Costa committed a tort by acting negligently. Our laws are put into place to protect us from this. Therefore, they are to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The unharmed plaintiffs probably won't win huge sums, but I can't blame someone who would sue for as much as possible, regardless of if I came away physically OK. I don't know if you saw the documentary on it, but it was painful to watch. Even if someone came off the ship alive, there is no way they would be mentally OK. There really isn't any amount of money that can compensate for mental daily anguish inflicted as result of another person's negligence.

 

Personally however, if I was relatively unscathed and all my loved ones were as well, I think I'd let the $14k suffice. I would feel like Costa owed me more for putting us through that, but I would not want to be in court for two years trying to "maybe" get more.[/color]

[maldenmusic]

Maybe they can write books about their experience on the Costa. I for one, would enjoy reading a first hand experience of what they passengers went through.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

If I had to swim to shore...or be in a situation wher the lifeboats couldnt be lowered and if crew tlod me to return to my cabin...and i sstupidly did..which i never would have done btw.....and my entire family including my young children were with me..you can bet i would Not be part of any class action suit........I would have my own lawyer.

 

 

This x1000

 

Class action suit benefits the lawyers handling the case more than anyone.

[CI66774]

I can't imagine what those passengers went through. Maybe they were physically unscathed but those memories of the event will remain forever. I will not judge any of them. If they want more more to compensate them for the mental trauma, etc - it's not for me to judge. The passengers were not negligent. They did nothing to cause that tragedy. They were innocent victims. I can only imagine the horror of it all.

 

Now, the Mcdonalds situation was different. The woman put the hot cup of coffee b/t her thighs and it spilled. Maybe the coffee's temp was a little hot (coffee is supposed to be hot not lukewarm). But her own stupidity and negligence contributed to her injuries - not much sympathy there.

[Vanessa L]

 

Well, I agree, our justice system is for the most part a joke.

 

Just to clarify, Stella Liebeck, the plaintiff in the McDonalds case, didn’t just "sue because she spilled hot coffee and got burned." She suffered third degree burns. Her skin on her thighs was burned completely off. This caused medical bills costing thousands of which McDonalds only offered $800 towards. This was AFTER they were approached--they did NOT offer of their own volition. Yes she won millions, but it was whittled down to only about $600k, of which I'm sure her lawyers took 40%.

 

The fact that the coffee was so hot that it caused third degree burns is in the legal world a tort-or a wrong. McDonalds committed a tort by allowing the coffee to be so hot that it would cause harm.

 

Costa committed a tort by acting negligently. Our laws are put into place to protect us from this. Therefore, they are to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The unharmed plaintiffs probably won't win huge sums, but I can't blame someone who would sue for as much as possible, regardless of if I came away physically OK. I don't know if you saw the documentary on it, but it was painful to watch. Even if someone came of the ship alive, there is no way they would be mentally OK. There really isn't any amount of money that can compensate for mental daily anguish inflicted as result of another person's negligence.

 

Personally however, if I was relatively unscathed and all my loved ones were as well, I think I'd let the $14k suffice. I would feel like Costa owed me more for putting us through that, but I would not want to be in court for two years trying to "maybe" get more.

 

Sorry, don't see it. Might've been different if it burned her face off, but really. Unless one has lived in a cave all their life, it is well known that when you order coffee, it is HOT. If you spill it on yourself, you may get burned. I can hear myself saying, "Well, duh." This is a perfect example of how ridiculous our litigious society has become.

[a3593]

I can't imagine what those passengers went through. Maybe they were physically unscathed but those memories of the event will remain forever. I will not judge any of them. If they want more more to compensate them for the mental trauma, etc - it's not for me to judge. The passengers were not negligent. They did nothing to cause that tragedy. They were innocent victims. I can only imagine the horror of it all.

 

Now, the Mcdonalds situation was different. The woman put the hot cup of coffee b/t her thighs and it spilled. Maybe the coffee's temp was a little hot (coffee is supposed to be hot not lukewarm). But her own stupidity and negligence contributed to her injuries - not much sympathy there.

 

I agree!! (With the first paragraph.) But, we should be able to spill coffee without getting burned to our muscle. It shouldn't be THAT hot. :p

 

But, the reason the plaintiff's are initiating their lawsuit is personal. None of us really (thankfully) can identify. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and say what they should & shouldn't do.

[Tranquil Waters]

What you're not grasping is that Carnival has written the contract to be air tight so as to avoid idiotic law suits like the one filed by SURVIVORS of this tragedy. I mean seriously, they are getting 15K PER PERSON for what? Pain and suffering, loss of personal items. That seems fair to me. Now, if there was loss if life, of course there should be more compensation. But the 15K person is for people who walked away. I don't know about you, but DH and I don't sail with 30K worth of goods. Fifteen thousand PER PERSON would be more than enough to compensate us for what was likely the scariest moment in these people's lives. But the fact remains, they lost nothing but personal goods. I hope CCL fights every greedy, ridiculous law suit they get. Give the money these greedy people are asking for to the people who actually deserve it, those who had loss of life (or their survivors). Seriously. It's people like you who've made this country so greedy and litigious, IMHO.

 

And what you are not grasping is that "air tight" contracts are not worth the paper they are written on when gross negligence comes into play. CCL would just like the victims of this tragedy to think they are airtight......

[H82seaUgo]

What you're not grasping is that Carnival has written the contract to be air tight so as to avoid idiotic law suits like the one filed by SURVIVORS of this tragedy.

 

not in this case. it won't be worth the paper on which it's wriitten.

[Vanessa L]

not in this case. it won't be worth the paper on which it's wriitten.

 

I guess we'll just have to read about it in Heaven, because I suspect a final verdict on this won't be rendered until our great, great grandchildren are in college.

[Tranquil Waters]

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that no matter what the lawyers tell them,

 

these individuals will still only get what they would have gotten without the lawyers....only now, they will be giving up 1/3rd of that for attorney fees.

 

Wanna bet? My money says that those who stay the course will get a lot more even after attorney fees/percentage.

[greg-nc]

I remember reading that insurance covered cost, but I just goggled and can't find evidence to support either of us. And that they were going to sue the manufacturer of faulty parts.

 

Here is an article on the insurance situation

 

Costa Concordia sinking could prove biggest maritime insured loss

 

 

Carnival is self-insured for the loss of the use of the Costa Concordia, which is insured for damage with a deductible of approximately $30 million, the company said.

 

Third-party personal injury liability insurance carries a deductible of approximately $10 million for this incident.

[H82seaUgo]

Wanna bet? My money says that those who stay the course will get a lot more even after attorney fees/percentage.

 

absolutely. this is gonna be a windfall, possibly bringing costa to the brink.

 

maybe bigger.

[Tranquil Waters]

I guess we'll just have to read about it in Heaven, because I suspect a final verdict on this won't be rendered until our great, great grandchildren are in college.

 

It won't have to come to a verdict. Costa/CCL will end up settling the suits out of court for a much greater amount than their original offer. It is not in their best interests to have a long protracted trial while they pay their lawyers huge legal fees while keeping the tragedy on the front pages of the news outlets for years on end. They want this wrapped up and out of the public attention.....

 

I am betting we will read about settlements in months rather than years.

[silverfoxcruiser]

Easy to pass judgment on this group from the safety and comfort of your computer screen. You speak of the entire incident as if it were a flight delay. Can you envision the terror of feeling the ship keel to the side and begin to sink? I would imagine most passengers did not know that they would be saved by shallow water. "Be thankful your {sic / you're} alive." And to speak so casually of the dead. "Other than funeral expenses for the dead and compensating for the loss of lives.... What else is their {sic}?" This is the most shameful, embarrassing post I have ever read.

Like and Agree! Silver