Last week, a father of four cruising on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship died in Roatan during a stop in that port after he dove into the water from an elevated structure of a pier.
Edmund David Rucker, believed to be 52 years of age, was with his wife and family when the tragic accident
Congress introduced legislation on Wednesday which will strengthen the rights of cruise passengers to seek compensation when cruise lines negligently cause the death of their loved ones on the high seas.
As matters now stand, the statute which governs deaths in international waters, the Death on the High Seas Act ("DOSHA"), bars the recovery of
This week several people died during cruises on ships owned by Carnival Corporation. A young seafarer died on the Carnival-owned Cunard Queen Victoria cruise ship. A crew member from the Carnival Conquest was crushed to death at the port of New Orleans. And most tragically, a 6 year-old boy needlessly drowned on the Carnival
The first blog I wrote when I started Cruise Law News three years ago was about the Death On The High Seas Act (“DOHSA”). It was called “Death On The High Seas Act – Screwing American Passengers for 89 Years.”
Under this archaic law, families who have lost a loved one on the
The cruise community has been closely following the sad story of 73 year old grandmother, Janet Richardson, who was dropped into the frigid Artic Sea two weeks ago during a botched transfer between the Ocean Countess cruise ship and an awaiting rescue vessel.
She died this past weekend.
We have posted stories on this sad incident and photographs of the
Today the Senate will debate amending the Death On The High Seas Act (DOHSA) to permit the families of the oil workers killed in the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion to recover compensation for their emotional damages for losing their husbands and fathers. The House of Representatives previously voted to amend DOHSA.
We have discussed the inequities in this archaic law which has been
This was a historic week in the world of cruising.
Congress passed the Cruise Vessel and Safety Act, which will help make cruising safer for U.S. families. Cruise lines will be required to install peepholes in cabin doors, maintain anti-retroviral medications and rape kits for victims, improve crime evidence handling procedures and – for the first time in
Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill – H.R. 5503 (also known as the SPILL Act) – which will amend the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA). H.R. 5503 will permit the widows and children of the oil rig workers killed in the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster to be compensated for their grief, mental anguish and suffering due to the deaths
As we suspected, the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) is working behind the scenes to derail efforts to amend the Death On The High Seas Act (DOHSA).
Yesterday we obtained a copy of a letter (below) sent by CLIA to Congressional representatives in Florida. CLIA is trying to rally opposition against H.R. 5503 which will permit widows and children recover compensation for their grief and
The death of eleven oil rig workers on the Deepwater Horizon has sparked a debate in Congress about repealing the antiquated and inequitable statute, the Death On The High Seas Act (DOHSA). This old law dating back to 1920 does not permit surviving wives and children compensation for their grief and bereavement when they lose a loved
Gordon Jones has been in the news lately. Have you heard of him?
Probably not.
But you all have heard of the companies that killed him: Oil giant BP, and Transocean – the operator of the foreign flagged drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon.
Gordon was just 28 years old when he died on April 20th. He left a pregnant wife and child behind. His Facebook
Mother Jones published an interesting article this morning by Stephanie Mencimer, "Will the Cruise Industry Do BP’s Dirty Work?" about how the cruise line lobbyists may join forces with BP to help the oil company dodge liability for the eleven workers killed on the Transocean drilling rig.
You see the drilling rig is considered to be a
An article in the Baltimore Sun entitled "Pleasure Cruise Bring Risks, Too" addresses the limited liability of cruise lines when tragedy strikes a family during a cruise. Written by Frank Roylance, the article begins with the sad circumstances of Carnival cruise passenger Carol Olson who died during what appears to be a very lax, unsupervised and negligently
The Baltimore Sun reports on the death of a 71 year old passenger from Reisterstown, Maryland , Carol Olson, during a snorkeling excursion in the Bahamas. Ms. Olson was a passenger on Carnival’s Pride cruise ship and booked the excursion from the cruise line.
Other passengers described having problems with the current. The excursion was described as poorly managed with
This is reason no. 5 in the series: Top 10 Reasons Not To Cruise
If you are retired or a child and die on a cruise ship due to the cruise ship’s negligence, the cruise line will consider your life to be worthless under current maritime law.
Your family will face a law called the Death on
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) has introduced an amendment to the Death on the High Seas Act ("DOHSA") to permit families to recover reasonable compensation when a loved one dies in international waters.
DOHSA Is Unfair to Passengers
As matters now stand, a cruise line is the only place in the world where a child or a retired
If you are retired or a child and die on a cruise ship due to the cruise ship’s negligence, the cruise line will consider your life to be worthless under current maritime law.
Your family will face a law called the Death on the High Seas Act, commonly known as “DOHSA.” In 1920, Congress
