MIAMI (AP) – New plaintiffs have been added to a revised lawsuit that seeks more than half-billion dollars in damages in last month's Italian cruise ship disaster.
Attorneys said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court now names 39 individual plaintiffs who were aboard the Costa Concordia when it capsized off the Tuscany coast on Jan. 13. At least 17 people died and 15 remain missing.
The lawsuit names Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. and its Costa subsidiary, which has offices in Hollywood, Florida, and Genoa, Italy.
The new version seeks $528 million in damages, consisting of $78 million in compensatory damages and $450 million in requested punitive damages.
Many law experts say it will be difficult to win lawsuits in Florida because Costa's cruise tickets require that any legal action be filed in Italy. Passenger lawyers contend Florida is proper because Carnival Corp. and Costa are essentially the same entity.
Other attorneys have announced plans to file lawsuits for passengers in Florida.
Meanwhile, Costa announced Tuesday it will extend its compensation offer for passengers until March 31. The previous deadline had been Feb. 24 for North America and Tuesday for all other countries, said Costa spokesman Buck Banks.
The offer would pay passengers 11,000 euros ($14,485 at current exchange rates) plus reimbursement for cruise ticket costs and extra travel expenses.
source: mb.com.ph
Showing posts with label Costa Concordia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Costa Concordia. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Kris Aquino's new travel goal: Listen intently to safety drills
MANILA, Philippines – Following the capsizing of cruise ship Costa Concordia on Jan. 13 in Italy—which left six people dead and nearly 30 others reportedly missing out of over 4,000 passengers—TV host-actress Kris Aquino vows to pay more attention to safety instructions when traveling.
"Nakailang cruise na kami tapos hindi ako nakikinig talaga sa safety drill. So sinabi ko sa sarili ko, now makikinig na ako. Kasi ‘di ba knowing where the proper exits are and knowing kung ano ‘yung tamang paraan to save yourself and save your family is so important," she said on “Kris TV,” Jan. 16.
Kris will likewise apply such attentiveness when traveling by plane.
"After watching... [the] news kung ano ‘yung pinagdadaanan nila na nakatagilid kang ganoon na, oh my God, sabi ko pati sa eroplano makikinig na ‘ko. Kasi ‘di ba normally ‘pag nagse-safety drill din sila at nagde-demonstrate dumi-dedma tayo. Ako normally nagdadasal-dasal, hindi ako nakikinig. So from now on makikinig na ko talaga,” she added.
In the last two years, Kris has taken her sons Joshua and Bimby to Disney Cruises both in Florida and California, as well as to a Mexican Riviera cruise.
Another goal
In the same “Kris TV” episode, the Queen of All Media shared footage of her recent “quick trip” to Boracay for what she dubbed a “wellness experience to start my 2012 right.”
She, together with some friends, and at some points, her two sons, embarked on a four-mile walking spree along the Boracay coast.
“This is a type of exercise na kakayanin ko [and] since nasimulan ko nung vacation I may as well pursue it now,” she said in the video clip.
They also had a field trip of sorts afterwards, walking on the streets of the world-renowned tourist destination. According to the pedometer application on her cellphone, Kris walked a total of 10.075 miles that day.
Although she has already exceeded her initial goal (four miles), Kris continued her fitness pursuit the following day and did 10 kilometers in a recumbent exercise bike and then another seven kilometers walking by the beach.
source: mb.com.ph
Saturday, January 14, 2012
3 die, 50 missing as cruise ship runs aground in Italy
PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy - At least three people were killed and rescuers were searching for other victims after an Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground and keeled over in shallow waters.
Dozens were injured and around 50 people remained unaccounted for after the 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia hit a sandbar near the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany as passengers sat down to dinner on Friday evening.
Passengers spoke of panic and described some people leaping into the sea from the listing ship, which finally came to rest on its side, with decks partly submerged, a few hundred metres from the shore.
Photographs showed a large gash along its side but officials declined to speculate on what had caused the accident in calm seas close to the shore.
They said rescue efforts were continuing after a night-time operation involving helicopters, ships and lifeboats.
"We have about 40 men at work and we're expecting specialist diving teams to arrive to check all the interior spaces of the ship," said fire services spokesman Luca Cari.
"We don't rule out the possibility that more people will be lost," he said.
But there was confusion around passenger lists.
"It's a very complex operation because some of the passengers may have jumped into the sea and not been picked up by rescuers, while others may have been sheltered in private houses and therefore not been identified yet," said Giuseppe Linardi, police chief in the nearby town of Grosseto.
Panic
"We were sitting down to dinner and we heard this big bang. I think it hit some rocks. There was a lot of panic, the tables overturned, glasses were flying all over the place and we ran for the decks where we put on our lifevests," passenger Maria Parmegiano Alfonsi told Sky Italia television.
Police and passengers quoted on television spoke of people jumping off the 290-metre-long ship, a floating resort hotel with spas, theatres, swimming pools and a discotheque.
"We had a blackout and everybody was just screaming. All the passengers were running up and down and then we went to our cabins to get to know what is going on," said another passenger, who did not give his name.
"They said we should stay calm, it is nothing, it's just some electrical problem or just some blackout thing."
Several passengers criticised the response to the emergency.
"We'll be able to say at the end of the investigation. It would be premature to speculate on this," coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini told SkyTG24 television.
Many of the 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew were taken to the mainland port of Porto Santo Stefano where they were given shelter in schools, churches and other public buildings.
The website of the ship's operator, Genoa-based Costa Crociere, had apparently collapsed under the volume of searches but the company set up a helpline to answer public enquiries. Costa said it would cooperate fully with authorities.
There was no word on the identities of casualties.
"We are going through the list of passengers at a reception centre that's been set up but most of the passengers didn't have their papers with them of course, so it's been difficult to get full identification," an official said.
Most of the passengers were believed to be Italian but people of several other nationalities were thought to be on board. British consular officials travelled to the area. — Reuters
source:gmanetwork.com
Dozens were injured and around 50 people remained unaccounted for after the 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia hit a sandbar near the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany as passengers sat down to dinner on Friday evening.
Passengers spoke of panic and described some people leaping into the sea from the listing ship, which finally came to rest on its side, with decks partly submerged, a few hundred metres from the shore.
Photographs showed a large gash along its side but officials declined to speculate on what had caused the accident in calm seas close to the shore.
They said rescue efforts were continuing after a night-time operation involving helicopters, ships and lifeboats.
"We have about 40 men at work and we're expecting specialist diving teams to arrive to check all the interior spaces of the ship," said fire services spokesman Luca Cari.
"We don't rule out the possibility that more people will be lost," he said.
But there was confusion around passenger lists.
"It's a very complex operation because some of the passengers may have jumped into the sea and not been picked up by rescuers, while others may have been sheltered in private houses and therefore not been identified yet," said Giuseppe Linardi, police chief in the nearby town of Grosseto.
Panic
"We were sitting down to dinner and we heard this big bang. I think it hit some rocks. There was a lot of panic, the tables overturned, glasses were flying all over the place and we ran for the decks where we put on our lifevests," passenger Maria Parmegiano Alfonsi told Sky Italia television.
Police and passengers quoted on television spoke of people jumping off the 290-metre-long ship, a floating resort hotel with spas, theatres, swimming pools and a discotheque.
"We had a blackout and everybody was just screaming. All the passengers were running up and down and then we went to our cabins to get to know what is going on," said another passenger, who did not give his name.
"They said we should stay calm, it is nothing, it's just some electrical problem or just some blackout thing."
Several passengers criticised the response to the emergency.
"We'll be able to say at the end of the investigation. It would be premature to speculate on this," coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini told SkyTG24 television.
Many of the 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew were taken to the mainland port of Porto Santo Stefano where they were given shelter in schools, churches and other public buildings.
The website of the ship's operator, Genoa-based Costa Crociere, had apparently collapsed under the volume of searches but the company set up a helpline to answer public enquiries. Costa said it would cooperate fully with authorities.
There was no word on the identities of casualties.
"We are going through the list of passengers at a reception centre that's been set up but most of the passengers didn't have their papers with them of course, so it's been difficult to get full identification," an official said.
Most of the passengers were believed to be Italian but people of several other nationalities were thought to be on board. British consular officials travelled to the area. — Reuters
source:gmanetwork.com
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