Teenager Falls to his Death Aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
In a continuation of the company’s latest string of incredibly bad publicity, cruise ship industry giant Royal Caribbean is yet again making headlines today after a 16-year-old boy fell to his death aboard the Harmony of the Seas last Friday morning.
The luxury liner was docked at its first port-of-call in Labadee, Haiti, in what was suppose to be the beginning of a seven-day voyage into the Western Caribbean, when the fatal falling accident occurred. Laurent Mercier, 16, of Wallis and Futuna, (a collection of French islands in the Southern Pacific adjacent to Fiji), assumingly without his keycard, was scaling the Deck 8 balcony next to his family’s stateroom in a failed attempt to gain access to his lodgings, when he slipped and fell to the ground below, according to witnesses at the scene.
Emergency medical teams aboard the cruise ship rushed to attend the young victim, and immediately began to employ life-saving techniques. Their attempts were ineffective, unfortunately, due to the intense nature of the teenager’s injuries after the impact of the fall. “The ship’s medical team responded to the pier and attempted CPR, but the decedent had sustained major head trauma, and he was pronounced at 1142 hours. Local authorities reportedly responded to the scene and established that no crime had occurred, but did not issue a death certificate,” stated a representative from the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office.
Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship, according to the company’s website, capable of housing over 5,400 occupants in its 2,747 staterooms. It is the second largest passenger ship in the world, only being surpassed by its sister-ship, the Symphony of the Seas.
For over forty years, the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham, P.A. has been representing the victims of cruise ship accidents. If you would like to schedule a free initial consultation, please contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY.
Sources:
- 16-year-old dies after falling from balcony of Royal Caribbean cruise ship
- Boy, 16, falls to his death while trying to climb into room from balcony of Royal Caribbean ship
- Teen dies after falling from a balcony on Royal Caribbean cruise ship in Haiti
- Harmony of the Seas – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
