Carnival Cruises problems with their Triumph cruise ship still are not over. Late last week the Triumph lost power while the ship was returning to its home port of Galveston, Texas after leaving from from Cozumel, Mexico. No injuries have been reported from the power loss. The 896 foot liner was built at the Italian Fincantieri shipyard and launched in 1999. Most will remember the Triumph had a catastrophic power failure last year leaving the vessel adrift in the Gulf of Mexico until it was towed back to port.
The resort injury lawyers of Brais Law Firm were successful in convincing a Federal court to apply Florida law to a death that occurred in the Bahamas. The case of John Van Hoy, Jr. is heartbreaking. John was on vacation with his fiancée Nicole at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort located Nassau. During his stay, he decided to refresh himself in one of the resort’s hot tubs. As he went under to wet his hair, he became entrapped on the bottom suction drain. Despite the efforts of many people, including other guests at the Sandals’ resort, John remained stuck on the bottom of the hot tub until he drowned. John died that night leaving behind two sons, his mother, father, siblings and Nicole. His death occurred because the hot tub was outfitted by a 12″ x 12″ flat drain cover, the motor / pump assembly were not equipped with a vacuum release system, there were no emergency shut off switch located around the hot tub and it is believed the pump room was locked delaying the shut off of the motor.
The cruise law firm of Brais Law Firm consistently represents passengers who injured their knees from slip and fall accidents occurring on cruise ship lido decks. The most common knee injury is torn menisci also know as torn cartilage. A Meniscus is the crescent-shaped cartilage tissue which acts like a shock absorber and provides structural integrity to the knee when it undergoes stress. When the knee is twisted beyond its normal range or hyperflexed as is common in slip and fall accidents, menisci are susceptible to tearing. Symptoms of a torn meniscus include pain and swelling of course; but popping, decreased range of motion and knee joint instability are also quite common indicators of the injury.
Not long into the New Year and cruise ships are starting to return to port with illness outbreaks. The CDC recently reported an outbreak has occurred on the Norwegian Star, a 965 foot cruise ship, operated by Miami based NCL. The CDC investigation lists 130 passengers and 12 crew members have come down with illness consisting of vomiting and diarrhea. NCL, in response to the outbreak, increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, warned the passengers about the outbreak and collected stool samples for later analysis by the CDC. The CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in Miami on January 19, 2014 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing.
The Carnival cruise ship Elation hailed the Coast Guard early Sunday morning requesting assistance with a 68-year-old man exhibiting signs of cardiac arrest. The Coast Guard dispatched a MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter which met the cruise ship approximately 60 miles off the Louisiana coast. The sick passenger and nurse were safely hoisted onto the helicopter and transported to Louisiana State University Medical Center. The man’s condition is currently unknown. The Elation is currently making weekly voyages to Mexico and the Caribbean from New Orleans.
