8-Year-Old in Unknown Condition after Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Swimming Pool Accident
On Thursday afternoon, an 8-year-old boy on the Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas ship was discovered in one of the vessel’s three pools. The ship, which had recently departed from Bayonne, NJ, was on the first leg of a 9-day journey that was to take the passengers south to Bermuda and then the Caribbean when the boy was found. According to the statement on record, Coast Guard officials were notified shortly before 7:00pm. The ship changed course and began heading back towards its port of departure. FDNY emergency response crews intercepted the ship about four miles off of Sandy Hook, NJ, and medevaced the child to Staten Island University Hospital North. Currently, the child is still in the hospital, his condition unknown.
Royal Caribbean has also stated that immediately upon discovery, the child was attended to by the medical team aboard the Anthem of the Seas, but due to the severity of the near-drowning accident, he needed to receive additional and immediate medical aid. The ship reached Bayonne once again around 12:30am. Passengers were notified of the circumstances and told that the ship would once again head out to sea early the following day. Friday morning, around 2:15am, the passengers were once again loaded onto the cruise ship and the trip was back underway.
The Anthem of the Seas is no stranger to disaster. In February of this year, the same ship was forced to turn around while traveling along the same rout when winds of up to 125 mph began whipping the ocean into a nightmarish frenzy. For hours, passengers report being thrown around their cabins, and damage was reportedly sustained in many of the common areas throughout the ship. Another ship in the Royal Caribbean line was in the news this past December when a child, also 8-years-old, drowned in the ship’s pool.
Cruises, while a wildly popular form of vacationing, can easily become disastrous. Even with the best possible emergency response crew on board, and even with the best possible nautical medical facilities, the distance from the amenities and medical treatment available on shore can turn a serious accident into a horrifying and life-altering situation.
To speak with Orlando cruise ship accident attorney James O. Cunningham, contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY (877-354-6587).
Sources:
- Boy, 8, Medevaced From Royal Carribbean Ship After Pool Accident
- Boy, 8, In Critical Condition After Nearly Drowning On Royal Caribbean Cruise Leaving New Jersey
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.