Cruise Law News : Maritime Lawyer & Attorney : James M. Walker : Walker & O'Neill Law Firm : Admiralty Law, Cruise Ship Accidents & Injuries

The case of a young girl strip searched by Carnival Cruise employees is expected to reach the jury early this week. 

The case involves allegations that over-zealous Carnival officers strip searched a 17 year old passenger suspected of possessing pot while aboard the Sensation cruise ship.

The search allegedly included a cavity inspection and the girl was told to remove her tampon in front of two male ship officers.

Carnival usually does not comment on pending litigation but went out of its way to tell newspapers that the claims were "far-fetched" and to basically call the girl a liar.

We have written a couple of articles about the outrageous allegations in the case:

Lawsuit: Carnival Cruise Lines Strip Searches Girl Looking For Pot

Court Permits Teenager Strip Searched on Carnival Cruise Ship to Seek Punitive Damages

The jury's verdict, pro or con, will come at a particularly bad time for the cruise line. The media has Carnival under a microscope with fires and engine problems plaguing the Carnival Triumph, Dream, Legend and Elation over the past two months and revelations that Carnival does not pay U.S. taxes or reimburse the U.S. for the services of federal agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard.  

The jury trial, which began last week, is before U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenbaum down here in South Florida.

We will report on the verdict as soon as it is announced. 

March 18 2013 Update: Defense verdict for Carnival.  The case was defended by Miami defense lawyers Curtis Mase and Lauren DeFabio. We will update this once we obtain a copy of the verdict form and obtain additional information.. 

Photo Credit: Wikipedia (Wknight94)

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A year ago I wrote an article about an over-zealous Carnival security officer who allegedly strip searched a 17 year old passenger suspected of possessing pot while aboard the Sensation cruise ship.

The search included a cavity inspection and the girl was told to remove her tampon in front of two male ship officers.  "Lawsuit: Carnival Cruise Lines Strip Searches Girl Looking For Pot" 

Carnival PR representatives were dismissive of the lawsuit, characterizing the claims as "far-fetched." The cruise line basically called the teenager a liar.

The case has been litigated for the past 11 months. Carnival recently argued that punitive damages should not be permitted because none of the employees involved in the incident were working in a "managerial capacity." Carnival essentially argued that they were just low level employees and any wrongful conduct was not part of any type of policy or procedure condoned by the cruise line.

The federal court disagreed, holding that "the fact that these officers follow directives and protocol from their supervisors does not necessarily mean that they could not also possess the discretion to ultimately determine Carnival's strip search policy." 

The case is now heading toward trial.

Read lawsuit here.

Story credit: Courthouse News Service

Photo credit: Huffington Post

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A federal grand jury indicted a Florida man arrested for participating in and encouraging the gang rape of a 15 year old girl on a Carnival cruise ship last month. The grand jury indicted Casey Dickerson on sexual abuse charges Wednesday for engaging in the rape of a girl in a cabin on the Carnival Sensation cruise ship.

The victim told the FBI that she and a friend went to Dickerson's cabin with him and four other boys. She said that Dickerson and the boys held her down and took turns raping her. 

Dickerson denies the charges but said he was drunk and didn't know when anything got "sexual." 

This is a case we have blogged about before here and here and here.  

The case demonstrates the danger of free flowing cruise booze and the danger to minors of sexual assault on cruise ships.

The good thing, if there is such a thing, about this case is that the FBI actually made an arrest and there will be a federal prosecution - which is rare.

Photo credit: FanDaily

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Last night HLN reported on the highly publicized sexual assault incident on the Carnival Sensation cruise ship.  A 15 year old girl alleges that she was gang-raped inside a cabin during a Caribbean cruise. A 31 year old man allegedly encouraged two underage boys to join him in sexually assaulting the girl. 

Jim Moret interviews our former client, Laurie Dishman, who is a sexual assault survivor and the Senior Vice President of the International Cruise Victims ("ICV").

Ms. Dishman states in the video that Carnival's all-you-can-drink booze package is dangerous in an environment where there is minimal security and excessive drinking. The suspect in this latest rape case reportedly provided alcohol to the boys who committed the rape.

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Multiple news stations are reporting today that a passenger from the Carnival Sensation cruise ship was fatally injured while in a serious accident involving a jet ski rented during a port call in Nassau. 

A second passenger sustained injuries and is recovering at a hospital in Nassau. 

Carnival states that the cruise passengers rented the jet ski directly from a local vendor.  The U.S. Department of State has the following warning about water sports rentals in the Bahamas:

"The water sports and scooter rental industries in The Bahamas are not carefully regulated.  Every year people are killed or injured due to improper, careless, or reckless operation of scooters, jet-skis, and personal watercraft or scuba/snorkeling equipment.  Visitors should rent equipment only from reputable operators, and should insist on sufficient training before using the equipment. There have been reports that some operators do not actually provide insurance coverage even when the renter opted (and paid) for insurance coverage.  Visitors should insist on seeing proof that operators have sufficient medical and liability insurance."

Carnival flew a "care team" from Miami to provide assistance to the passengers' families.  Carnival issued a statement: "All of us are deeply saddened by this event and extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those involved."

May 10th Update:

Accident like this are not isolated incidents.  BahamasB2B.com has the following story entitled "Another Bahamas Tourist Dies on a Jet Ski:"

"The continued failure of the Bahamas government to enforce jet-ski regulations might possibly be viewed as criminal negligence.

A female tourist from the United States died in a horrific jet-ski accident in Nassau Harbour around 5:00pm on Saturday.

The 27-year-old woman from Florida, and a male companion also in his late 20s, had rented a jetski after arriving in Nassau on a Carnival Cruise ship.

The pair was riding the jet-ski in Nassau Harbour when they crashed into a boat near the entrance of the harbour, off the Montagu Foreshore.

Despite efforts by paramedics, the woman died almost immediately upon arriving at the hospital.

Her male companion is in serious condition after suffering head injuries.

Police investigations are underway as police try to figure out who was actually driving the jet-ski, where they acquired the vehicle and the circumstances leading up to the deadly accident.

Concerns over the dangers of jet-skis and other watersports have been ignored for years by the Bahamas Government, depsite numeorus deaths and serious injuries.

There is a poorly enforced law that requires jet-ski operators to provide a 15-minute training session to anyone interested in renting a jet-ski. However, that is rarely done and never enforced.

The names of the victims have not yet been released."

You can read about other jet ski accidents in the Bahamas here. 

"Jet Ski Operators Defend Industry After Death" explains some of the problems with renting jet skis in the Bahamas.

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Reuters is reporting that the Carnival Sensation cruise ship's arrival back in Port Canaveral today was delayed for several hours as authorities responded to what some are saying is a bomb hoax.

The cruise ship was heading back to Port Canaveral after a three-day cruise to the Bahamas when a passenger allegedly overheard another passenger make a "bomb threat."  

Reuters quoted the passenger allegedly saying:

"We are jihad. Come to the top deck and watch the bomb. The bomb is going to blow."

The FBI, U.S. Coast Guard and Brevard County sheriff's deputies boarded the cruise ship at around 9:30 a.m. (approximately 5 - 6 hours after the incident) according to a U.S. Coast Guard press release.  Passenger Ibrahim Khalil Zarou, 31, a U.S. citizen, of Leesburg, Virginia, was arrested.

There are conflicting stories about how the FBI is handling the matter.  One newspaper suggests that a FBI agent later stated that there was no criminal conduct and the incident was just a "mis-communication" between passengers.  But other sources say that Mr. Zarou had to post a $10,000 bail and will be prosecuted.  

Passengers report the passenger was "highly intoxicated" - not an unusual thing on the Carnival fun ships, particularly early in the morning when the incident was reported.  It is unknown whether the passengers reporting the incident were also drunk.  It would be interesting to see how much money Carnival charged him for the booze sold during the cruise.

One thing to consider:  Although this was a hoax or "mis-communication," U.S. authorities did not board the cruise ship until around 5 - 6 hours later - even though the cruise ship was sailing from Nassau back to Florida.  Imagine if this had been a real jihadist attack, and the cruise ship was not near a U.S. port.  How long would it take for U.S. authorities to appear?   

Credits:

Photograph           Loudouni.com

Video         WSVN 7

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