Maritime Lawyers Sue Carnival Corp. While Costa Cruises Offer Survivors Over $14,000 Each

Posted in Maritime Accidents,Maritime Law,Maritime Lawsuits,World Maritime News on January 27, 2012

ROME, Italy – The Italian Association of Tour Operators told the media that a decision between Costa Cruises and consumer groups was reached offering the surviving passengers of the Costa Concordia cruise ship a compensation lump sum of $14,460 plus travel and medical costs. The offer does not apply to hundreds of crew members who were on the ship and lost their jobs due to the disaster.

Passengers are still free to take legal action on their own if they do not accept the offer.

Codacons, one of Italy’s best-known consumer groups, has engaged two U.S. law firms to launch a class-action lawsuit against Costa and Carnival in Miami, claiming that it expects to get anywhere from $164,000 to $1.3 million per passenger.

According to Newsmax, a complaint, alleging negligence and breach of contract, was filed yesterday in federal court in Chicago by crew member Gary Lobaton, who seeks class-action status to represent all victims of the disaster off Giglio Island. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, has been accused of causing the accident and abandoning ship.

The case is Gary Lobaton vs Carnival Corp, Case No. 1:12-cv-00598, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.