Royal Caribbean Coronavirus Lawsuits
When the coronavirus first began sweeping across the world, apart from it’s epicenter within the Hubei province of China, attention became glued to a cruise ship located off of the coast of Japan. This ship, which remained docked in waters outside of Yokohama starting from the beginning of February, became a hotspot for COVID-19 infections. By the end of February, more than 700 members of the guests and the crew had tested positive for the extremely contagious virus.
From that point on, news reports began surfacing over and over again relating to the presence of COVID-19 on cruise ships. Due to the nature of cruises, they became a natural breeding ground for contagion: days of close confinement with thousands of others followed by periods of being docked in a new port followed by more days of close contact with thousands of others. As the cruise off of Yokohama proved, being stranded within a ship is the last place you want to be during a quarantine.
However, despite the mounting evidence of the dangers of cruise ships, the managers of companies such as Royal Caribbean continued to offer incentives to travelers, encouraging people to purchase tickets at cheaper prices just so that the companies could keep their ships and their pockets as full as possible. This practice was continued even after the U.S. State Department issued a statement on the 14th of March telling people not to sail due to the increased concerns about transmission and infection aboard a cruise ship.
Essentially, even as medical professionals, scientists and the U.S. Government were telling people that they should not be boarding cruise ships, companies such as Royal Caribbean began pushing additional incentives in order to get more passengers aboard. In addition to the above-mentioned discounted tickets, towards the end of February and into March, Royal Caribbean rolled out new flexible cancellation policies designed to encourage people to continue purchasing tickets and planning trips.
By the beginning of April, most cruise lines had indeed cancelled upcoming trips, but then reports began to emerge around an incident involving a Royal Caribbean employee who died after being admitted to a hospital while suffering from severe respiratory issues. This employee began to experience COVID symptoms days after boarding a ship that had only just been emptied of passengers - including some suspected of being infected with the coronavirus.
Fourteen of the deceased individual’s co-workers on the same Royal Caribbean ship, the Oasis of the Seas, were also tested positive for coronavirus.
If you or someone you know became ill after being aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship between February and April, then we are here to begin discussing with you the first steps towards seeking reparations. The fact of the matter is that cruise lines such Royal Caribbean deliberately attempted to continue operating even as the facts showed that cruises were incredibly dangerous places for people to be. Any medical costs incurred as a result of a cruise with Royal Caribbean should not be yours to shoulder.
Contact the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham, P.A. today at 877-FL-INJURY to learn how we will bring our numerous decades of experience to the courtroom in your fight against Royal Caribbean.
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July 26, 2020
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