Costa Concordia design flaws and law suits

Carnival are one of the worlds largest cruise ship operators owning several of the largest cruise brands – P&O cruises, Princess cruises and Cunard. Carnival expecting to lose up to $175 million from its profits this year due to the Costa Concordia disaster and the aftermath. The first ever lawsuit against Costa was by a crewmember that was seeking to sue on the grounds of negligence due to an unsafe evacuation.

As of yet, the only compensation openly given out of court by Carnival is the return of money passengers have spent on travel and medical expenses, as well as around $14,500 (11,000 euro) per passenger for lost luggage as it is suggested hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of belongings were lost, and for psychological trauma. This compensation however does not stretch to crewmembers, many of whom no longer have jobs. As of yet however this compensation has only been taken by a few passengers, many of the others have rejected it and are waiting for bigger compensation.

One of the main factors discussed in the area of lawsuits is the fact those based in the U.S. wanting to pursue a legal case against Costa Concordia, will be facing a harder time than first thought. It is included in the fine print of the ticket that those wishing to sue must file their lawsuits in Italy. The cost of which, has often deterred those from pursuing the case. To further this, the Costa ticket also limits its liability for injuries and deaths on the ship to $71,000, although this can be challenged.

The more recent news story to date however is a new lawsuit that claims the liner had the propensity to roll and was flawed in ways that hampered with the evacuation. It also suggests corners were cut in order to cater for commercial needs rather than safety. Complaints were filed against the architects and designers and Carnival Cruises themselves. A minimum of $10 million has been filed for.

Several lawyers and attorneys have suggested the sheer volume of lawsuits against Costa Concordia, will make insurers demand higher safety requirements and better conditions from various cruise ships, which will improve the overall standards at present.

In the time since the disaster, Carnival initially estimated a loss of $30 million, a figure which has now reached over $175 million. No matter what systems are put in place, it is clear to suggest Carnival and the Costa Concordia will be subject to countless law suits and claims for many years to come.