Cruise Ship Fires
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Cruise Ship Fires
The cruise industry continues to grow exponentially and has mushroomed into the fastest growing segment of the vacation market. Over 85 million people have taken cruise vacations over the past three decades, and the leaders in the industry plan on building over fifty new ships in the next five years, some of which are planned to carry over 8,000 passengers. With this many lives at stake, safety should be of paramount concern.
However, this is tragically not always the case. One of the single gravest threats to passenger safety is a fire onboard the cruise ship, and of the 17 major cruise ship accidents that took place during the decade between 1985 and 1995, nine involved fires. Carnival Cruise Lines has seen several dangerous fires aboard the Tropicale and the Ecstasy, and the recent tragedy of the Star Princess of Princess Cruises (owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp.) was the site of at least one American death.
The injuries sustained during cruise ship fires can be serious, ranging from smoke inhalation to lacerations, broken bones, and sprains caused by falls during the evacuation process. Historically, most fire-related transportation deaths are not the result of burn injuries, but rather, are caused by smoke inhalation that overwhelms the lungs and blinds victims that are attempting to escape.
There are a number of reasons that fire risk is particularly high on the vessels, the greatest of which perhaps is a crew that is untrained and unfamiliar with fire safety and emergency evacuation. Most employees on cruise ships work exceedingly long hours under difficult conditions for relatively little compensation. They are often unable to communicate with each other and with passengers due to language barriers, and are often provided with insufficient equipment or deficient emergency evacuation plans.
The government has forced significant fire safety improvements over the past five years, but as shown by the Star Princess, Vista Fjord, Universe Explorer, Ecstasy, and Tropicale accidents, fires still present a major risk to the millions of passengers on cruise ships each year. If you have been injured in a cruise ship fire, you could be entitled to compensation for your physical and emotional anguish. Make sure to call a knowledgeable and experienced maritime attorney who can fight for your legal rights today.
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