Charles R. Lipcon is the firm's founding attorney and has been handling injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims for over 40 years.
Jason R. Margulies is an experienced maritime lawyer and an active trial attorney handling personal injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims.
Ricardo V. Alsina is an active trial attorney, handling personal injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims.
Mr. Winkleman is an active trial and appellate attorney handling all personal injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims, as well as complex business disputes.
About six months have passed since the tragic Costa Concordia cruise liner hit the coast of Giglio. As the time has passed, certain safety measures have come to light that call into question if the accident and the fatalities resulting from the Costa could have been prevented. It is reported in a recent article by CNN that Carnival cruise lines, who is the parent company of Costa, has implemented safety procedures such as required safety instruction which covers serious life-saving topics like where to muster, how to put on a lifejacket, and what to expect in an evacuation.
The Costa cruise ship accident has put a serious damper on the global cruise industry, as attention was brought to lax safety measures and the complications involved when cruise lines operate under the laws of other countries who may have weak regulations—despite headquarters of these companies located in the United States or in Europe.
Other issues have become focal points by the U.S. Senate, such as the tax breaks these cruise lines get by having ships registered elsewhere. As Senator Jay Rockefeller states, “they just know how to work the system and they work it very well and always to their advantage.” For example, Carnival paid 1.1% tax on the $11.3 billion in profits. Cheap labor, low registration fees and little to no taxes are all advantages that cruise lines have employed.