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Fatal Falling Accident on Carnival Elation

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on January 22, 2018

In a scene that was described by fellow passengers as “gruesome”, a woman tragically fell to her death early this past Friday morning aboard the Carnival Elation from her cabin’s balcony, located on the 14th Floor of the fantasy-class cruise ship.

Just one day before the fatal falling accident, the twenty-year-old luxury liner set sail out of Jacksonville, Florida, its port-of-call, embarking on a four-day cruise to the Bahamas. The vessel was travelling just outside of Freeport when the woman, who has yet to be identified, fell 2 stories from her staterooms balcony down to the 11th Floor. A large number of big-name cruise lines do not have a 13th Floor, and the Carnival Elation is no exception.

Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Vance Gulliksen released press statement in regards to the fatal falling accident: “The ship’s medical team responded immediately, but, unfortunately, she passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and her family.”

According to witnesses, no one was allowed on or off the ship until the scene of the accident was processed by the authorities. Carnival Cruise Lines is currently assisting the investigation in any way that they can, working in conjunction with the FBI, the Bahamian police, the United States Coast Guard, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department in order to determine what exactly happened.

This is just the latest story in a string of bad press for the cruise ship industry giant. Within the past year, there have been a total of nine deaths between either tourists or employees. The Cruise Ship Wave Network, a website that is a “collection of websites and services dedicated to supporting the cruise industry”, stated that the primary cause of these fatal accidents were those in which the passengers fell overboard, or passed away due to natural causes.

Cruise ship litigation is tricky and complex, to say the very least. For example, even though you may set sail out of Florida or one of the surrounding states, your lawsuit would need to be filed in the state where the cruise line’s primary headquarters resides. It is for reasons such as this that it’s quite important to have an experienced cruise ship accident attorney on your side. To schedule a free initial consultation with the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham, P.A., contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY.

Read More:
Woman dies after falling from a 14th deck balcony on a Carnival cruise
Woman falls to her death aboard Carnival Cruise ship bound for Bahamas
Woman dies after falling from balcony of Carnival cruise ship
Carnival Cruise Passenger’s Death After Two-Story Fall Marks at Least Second Falling Death for Carnival in a Year

James O. Cunningham

James O. CunninghamSince 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.

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