The Scottish and British press are reporting on a lawsuit filed (or to be filed) against Royal Caribbean following the death passenger who was thrown about her cabin during the December 14, 2010 storm and lapsed into a coma.  Barbara Davey, age 56, was cruising on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas when the cruise ship failed to make port in Alexandria before a storm hit the ship.

One article: "Passenger Dies after Cruise Ship Sails into 80mph Storm" mentions that the passenger died from what is described as a "brain ­hemorrhage" after the cruise ship was hit by a ­Brilliance of the Seas - Royal Caribbean - Cruise ship"horrific 80 mph storm."

In another article, the passenger’s husband, John Davey, describes the ordeal as follows: "Barbara was tossed around like a ragdoll and was seriously hurt. When the storm calmed, the ship’s interior was smashed to pieces . . .  Three days later, she lapsed into unconsciousness before my eyes, fell into a coma, and never woke up."  Her husband recently made the difficult decision to remove his wife from life support.

We have written a number of article about the poor seamanship and the cruise line’s effort to down play the incident:

Ferocious Storm Batters Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Calls on "Captain Hollywood" to the Rescue Following the Latest Brilliance of the Seas Debacle

Will Royal Caribbean Release CCTV Video of the Brilliance of the Seas During the Storm?

 

January 31, 2011 Update:  Royal Caribbean plays hardball:  Royal Caribbean Releases Private Medical Information About Dead Passenger

 

Photo credit:  anspics Flickr page