In the wake of the Costa Concordia cruise ship crash, there have been differing opinions on whom to hold responsible. There have also been differing opinions on how to hold those people / organizations responsible. Even further, it's not entirely clear where they should be held responsible...
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/carnival-cruise-survivors-differ-pursue-legal-action-crash/story?id=15396729
Who do you think bears the most responsibility in all of this? Should Carnival (the company that operates the ship) shoulder some of the blame or does it solely lie with Captain Francesco Schettino? Do the reports that he was having dinner and not at the helm during the accident make any difference in who is responsible? Should the passengers be able to sue, or is this just something that you risk when you take a cruise? Should this be an issue taken up in Italy (where it occurred) or in the United States (where Carnival is headquartered)? (due by 1/22)
While Captain Schettino is to blame for a lot of this, I believe that Carnival is also to blame. They obviously have a lot of work to do in changing how they train their employees and making sure they have the most qualified people on board their ships. I believe that if the ship had just crashed and the crew had followed protocol and handled the situation better than no there would be no excuse to allow people to sue, but that was not the case. Because the crew put passengers at more risk and possible contributed to the deaths of the 11 know dead by waiting so long to take the problem seriously yes I believe that you should be able to sue. I can not comment on where the issue should be taken up due to the fact that I do not know how the courts work in Italy, assuming that the legal system is similar in both countries I believe that the captain should be tried in Italy and any charges directed particularly at Carnival should be taken up in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick on the fact that the fault lies with both the captain and Carnival. Yes, the captain should have been doing his job instead of having dinner, but the Carnival employees should have been qualified enough to handle the situation even without the captain. Yes, I believe that the passengers should be able to sue because the 11 people who died died because of the captain's and the Carnival workers' mistakes. This issue should be resolved in Italy because the fault mostly lies with the captain. Even though he wasn't at his post, he abandoned both the crew and the remaining passengers, which is even more serious than not being at his post.
ReplyDeleteI think that the majority of the blame lies in the captain. He must have known that he was too close to the shore, and by not taking the proper precautions and in fact going off course, he did the wrong thing and in the end killed people. I think that people will sue as well. It's similar to the stage collapse in Indiana. In both cases, people were killed and because the blame could be put on more than one party, the blame will ultimately be subjective, and thus going to different people. More often than not cruises are a very safe environment, but how they handled the situation is what will hurt the cruise line in the long run. From the excuses and telling people to go back to their cabins, the cruise line is ultimately hurting their reputation and credibility overall.
ReplyDeleteI think blame lies with many people. Of course, the captain is first to blame. He wasn't where he was supposed to be, and he abandoned his ship, crew, and passengers when they needed him the most. It is also the captain's fault that the ship went aground because he went off track so a waiter could wave goodbye to his family. I think the people aboard the ship, who were working along side the captain, were also to blame for approving the detour. In addition, I think Carnival shares some of the blame because they promised safety aboard their ships. The likelihood of a ship going down is very slim, and they promised their patrons they would take every safety precaution they set into place while on their cruise. Obviously, not every precaution was taken because of the captain and the whole mess could have been avoided. I believe people should sue because it was their vacation that turned into a tragedy. Just because they could have escaped death doesn't mean they aren't physically or mentally scared from the trauma. Furthermore, if Carnival wants any sort of good reputation, which is not likely for awhile, they should pay back all those on the ship. It doesn't matter if it happens here in the US where the company is located or in Italy where the boat went down. Those people should still seek compensation for what they have been through.
ReplyDeleteI think the captain and carnival should be responsible because the captain is supposed to be there at all times making sure everything is going swimmingly. I also think carnival should take some blame because they need to know how to react to things when they go wrong. The reports of the captain having dinner do make a difference but he should have already taken the blame before then. The passengers should be able to sue because nobody knew what to do even though I do think it is a risk when you take a cruise. The issue should be taken up in both Italy and the U.S. because they both should be responsible for what happened.
ReplyDeleteI think the captain should be responsible for the crash because he was not commanding the ship at the time of the crash. I do not think that the passengers should be able to sue because it is a risk that they have to take boarding the ship. Boarding the ship you must trust the cruise line to be safe and smart and handle the situation when it goes bad. The whole thing was a freak accident and should change in the future
ReplyDeleteI think whoever was in charge of making ure the boat is in route should be in trouble and whoever wasnt doing their job right should be blamed because that was easily avoidable and they knew tye risks and should know better that they should go on the route that was made for them. Now because they were stupid they cost several people their lives. I dont think carbival should be in trouble because they probs expect thag people know to do their job right
ReplyDeleteI am basically going with what Nick said. Most of the blame should be towards the captain, but some to Carnival. The reason Carnival should get some of the blame is because apparentley they do not train their employees well enough. I believe the people should be allowed to sue because going on to a cruise, you trust the crew memeber and the captains to keep you safe at all times. As for the court issues, the captain should be tried in Italy because all of this happened there, but court issues for Carnival should be held in the US because they are based here.
ReplyDeleteI think the captain should be responsible for the crash exspecially after he abandoned the people that were still on board. The company shouldn't shoulder the situation because the captain was obviously certified and the company can't control what happens at sea. I don't think people should sue the company either. If you're still alive, you should count your blessings and move one. I guess it is also a risk you take when boarding a cruise ship. The issue should be taken up in the United States because the company is here and they probably know more about the situation than anyone.
ReplyDeleteI think the captain is to blame for this crash. It is his responisbility to make sure that the ship and all of the passengers are safe. The ship is set on a predetermined route that should not have been adjusted by the captain. This case should be looked after by the United States, because Carnival Cruise Lines are located there. Carnival should compensate the passengers, who were on the ship. It is not their fault that the captain of the ship was neglegant.
ReplyDeleteThe captain is the person to blame in this situation. It doesn't matter where the captain was at or what he was doing. No one can predict that the captain wanted to be cocky and go against orders. Carnival can't be blamed for that. Although Carnival Cruise Line will have some blame put on them because they are a business and they are responsible for anything that goes wrong. The passengers should be able to sue because they are suppose to feel safe while on board. They have trust that the captain will do his job and not put anyone's life in danger. The captain's court issue should be dealt with in Italy but if any suing against Carnival occurs then it should be in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI believe the captain is to blame for this crash. It was his choice to go off course and put the lives of many passengers at risk. No it does not make a difference if he was at dinner because he had a responsibility to make sure that the passengers stayed safe and he was negligent in his decisions. The passengers should be able to sue because they bought tickets with the insurance that they would return home safely. The captain went of course and that is the issue which could be sued. This issue should be take up in the U.S. where the headquarters are located.
ReplyDeleteWell having heard a lot about this accident and just having when on a cruise, seeing first hand that absolutely everyone on a cruise ship has a role, twenty four hours a day everyday your on the cruise there are people everywhere constantly doing somthing, and theres not a lot of standing around and lolly-gagging.. So that would lead me to think that not only the captain but the crew as and entirety that man the front of the ship played a role in this accident, and although theres a part at large that would point fingers at the captain alone, and i do agree that he is most definetly first inline at fault for this, but it is true there are several people that work under him and I must say I highly doubt he just dipped out without any forewarning, and there was probably someone else who's duty it was to be watching the controls.. and there again, not to mention the fact that if the boat was casting off, there is a different person entirely, who is brought on board to take the boat out of the port. soooo the captain should have probably been overseeing said personnel but considering the ungodly amount of money again said person is paid why would the captain need to watch him do his job anyway? I dont think it would solve anything letting the people sue carnival i can only imagine the things carnival is doing to reimburse every person on the cruise... i think also that if the ships headquarters are in the U.S. leave Italy out of it, it would be completely ridiculous to pay for somthing they honestly did not have anything todo with.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the captain is the one to blame for all this. One of the captain's many jobs is to socialize with the the passengers and crew aboard the ship. I do think the people running the ship should receive all the blame because they were either not trained enough or just flat out did not do their job correctly and that is unacceptable. The people should not be able to sue because they take that risk when signing up to attend the cruise. They should in fact get their money back or receive some kind of refund from Carnival. Therefore, this issue should be resolved in the U.S. because Carnival's headquarters is based in the U.S. is
ReplyDeleteThe blame lies in two possible places in my opinion. Either with the harbor pilot if they were still in the harbor or with the captain of they were not. However chase is right about one thing. The captain does have many responsibilities but his crew should not have overlooked such a crucial mistake on his part.
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