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 "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
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