http://blog.lipcon.com/ Published by Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P.A. en-us 2012-02-04T21:09:26-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/02/british_man_feared_to_have_fal.html A British passenger is feared to have fallen overboard from the world's biggest cruise ship in waters near Mexico. The 30-year-old man, who has not been named, was seen falling over the railings by another passenger on the Allure of... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2012-02-04T21:09:26-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/02/woman_on_cruise_ship_loves_cap.html CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A woman at the center of the Italian cruise ship disaster has told investigators she was indeed on the bridge of the ship when it wrecked, killing 32 people, the BBC reported. Dominica Cemortan, 24, who... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2012-02-03T21:17:37-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/family_of_missing_us_couple_ac.html WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn.—Family members of a Minnesota couple missing in the Italian cruise ship disaster said Tuesday they accept the decision to end the search. In a blog posting, the children of Jerry and Barbara Heil of White Bear... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2012-01-31T18:34:12-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/carnival_fall_on_cruise_ship_k.html NASSAU, Bahamas -- Authorities in the Bahamas say a 26-year-old tourist from South Carolina died aboard a Carnival cruise ship over the weekend. Bahamas police said in a statement Saturday that a man from South Carolina apparently jumped from one... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2012-01-30T18:32:45-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/mass_woman_dies_after_fall_on.html FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Investigators in Florida do not suspect foul play in the death of a Massachusetts woman who fell down stairs aboard a cruise ship. The Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the woman Monday as 47-year-old Barbara Wood... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2012-01-30T18:30:33-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/cruise_ships_designs_are_at_fa.html Cruise ships' designs are at fault As a descendent of a long line of ship designers and builders, I shiver when I see each new modern cruise ship hit the waves. They are designed to have far too many passenger... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2012-01-27T17:14:18-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/costa_cruises_will_offer_modes.html January 27, 2012 -- The Italian Association of Tour Operators announced from Rome this morning that passengers who survived the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident on January 13 without physical injury will each be offered $14,460 in compensation. The arrangement... Maritime Matter of the Week Lipcon 2012-01-27T14:52:10-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/how_cruise_ship_safety_oversig.html By Monica Kim, Condé Nast Traveler magazine The capsizing of the Costa Concordia has thrown a harsh spotlight on the international cruise industry. Much like the ill-fated Concordia, the $40 billion industry is being portrayed as a ship without a... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2012-01-26T17:10:24-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/costa_concordia_disaster_bring.html Thinking about booking a cruise? The crew may be unprepared. Talk to cruise-line workers, and you won’t hear much surprise about the chaos during the Costa Concordia disaster. “Those of us who’ve had close calls before knew it was a... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2012-01-23T19:25:55-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/cruise_ship_sex_abuse_claims_p.html Detectives are investigating claims of sexual abuse against children alleged to have taken place onboard two of Cunard's most luxurious cruise liners. It is claimed that a crew member committed assaults on the Queen Mary 2 and its sister vessel... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2012-01-22T22:15:07-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/cruise_ship_search_off_italy_f.html Navy teams conducting rescue efforts are seen January 21, 2012, near the Costa Concordia cruise ship which ran aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island. Italian media say police divers searching the Costa Concordia cruise liner, which... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2012-01-21T22:25:20-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/modern_cruise_ships_are_their.html There has been a media sensation surrounding the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy last Friday, perhaps in large part due to the chilling coincidence it happened on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2012-01-20T23:19:05-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/when_is_a_captain_allowed_to_a.html "The captain is last to leave a sinking ship": A legally binding rule, or a nautical myth? Last Friday's cruise ship accident off the coast of Italy has once again raised the question. August 3, 1991: An explosion shakes the... Maritime Matter of the Week Lipcon 2012-01-19T22:29:15-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/search_for_survivors_suspended.html Italian rescue workers suspended operations Wednesday after the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship shifted slightly on the rocks near the Tuscan coast, creating deep concerns about the safety of divers and firefighters searching for the 22 people still missing. Premier... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2012-01-18T22:49:17-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/reckless_maneuver_cited_as_pot.html Tuscany Coast, Italy, Jan. 15, 2012—Rescuers continue to search the submerged wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that sank on January 13th, only a few hours after it set sail. The Concordia reportedly had approximately 3,000 passengers aboard, of... Maritime Matter of the Week Lipcon 2012-01-15T18:35:00-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/liner_captain_is_questioned_in.html GIGLIO, Italy — The captain of the cruise ship that capsized aground near an Italian island, killing at least five people, may have caused the accident by taking the ship too close to the island’s rocky shore, the owner of... Cruise Ship Law Lipcon 2012-01-15T08:43:31-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/survivors_found_inside_capsize.html The confirmed death toll from the capsizing of Carnival Corp.’s (CCL) Costa Concordia off Italy’s Tuscan coast rose to five today as rescuers continued to search for 15 people still missing. Three people were found alive in the capsized cruise... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2012-01-15T08:34:43-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/pool_attendant_allegedly_rapes.html It’s the fourth case of a cruise ship sexual assault on an underage girl to hit the news since November. Fabian Palmer, 25, a Royal Caribbean employee, has admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old girl while she was on... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2012-01-14T20:24:49-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/night_of_chaos_after_cruise_sh.html PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy - The first course had just been served in the Costa Concordia's dining room when the wine glasses, forks and plates of cuttlefish and mushrooms smashed to the ground. At the magic show in the... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2012-01-14T13:16:47-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/captain_francesco_schettino_wa.html Rome, Italy -- The Italian captain of the cruise ship that ran aground -- killing three people and injuring 20 more -- was arrested late Saturday and is being investigated for abandoning ship and manslaughter, said a local prosecutor in... Cruise Ship Law Lipcon 2012-01-14T08:40:30-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/foundering_of_italian_cruise_s.html MIAMI — Veterans of the cruise line industry can’t remember an accident more dramatic than the one that captivated the world’s attention this weekend. An Italian ocean liner capsized onto its side, half the ship submerged in the shallows of... Cruise Passenger S.O.S. Lipcon 2012-01-14T08:37:14-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/cruise_disaster_three_confirme.html Earlier Saturday Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia, had told Italian television that the vessel had hit a rocky spur while cruising in waters which, according to the charts, should have been safe. "As we were navigating at cruise... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2012-01-14T08:30:15-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/serial_rapist_sentenced_follow_1.html Mobile, AL - Declared by his judge to be a “serial rapist”, 19-year-old Dylan Cole Bloodsworth of Gautier, Mississippi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl on a Carnival cruise ship in March of... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2012-01-10T16:32:52-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/couple_take_thomson_to_court_o.html HOLIDAYMAKERS subjected to a constant stench of sewage during a £1,000 cruise are taking the tour operator to court. Paul and Cynthia Holdcroft, from Tunstall, are among hundreds of disgruntled customers who are looking to take action against Thomson following... Maritime Matter of the Week Lipcon 2012-01-09T14:16:00-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/girl_15_lured_into_cruise_ship.html A 15-year-old girl's family Caribbean cruise turned into a holiday nightmare when she was lured into an on-board trap and raped, authorities said. The suspects in the Iowa girl’s ordeal, Luiz Scavone, 20, of Sao Paolo, Brazil, and an unnamed... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2012-01-06T11:08:44-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2012/01/two_arrested_accused_of_raping.html Iowa 15-year-old was on 10-day cruise with parents By Danielle A. Alvarez and Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel A teenager said she was raped by two passengers while aboard a Port Everglades-based cruise ship, lured from a teen dance club to... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2012-01-04T14:44:11-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/feds_charge_woman_in_bomb_thre.html JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Baldwin woman is facing fatal charges in connection with a bomb treat made on a cruise ship set to arrive in Jacksonville. Linda Wilson, 44, is charged with reporting false information/hoax to law enforcement officials regarding... Maritime Matter of the Week Lipcon 2011-12-27T09:17:21-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/us_coast_guard_suspends_search.html US Coast Guard suspends search for cruise ship worker who jumped overboard near Puerto Rico By Associated Press, Published: December 27 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. Coast Guard says it has suspended a search for a 30-year-old female... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2011-12-27T09:13:12-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/cruise_boat_burns_in_lady_bird.html Boat Owner: 'This is devastating for me' AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin Fire Department contained a two-alarm fire on a boat dock and a boat in the Hyatt marina on Sunday afternoon, at least one of which belongs to Capital... Cruise Passenger S.O.S. Lipcon 2011-12-25T09:04:14-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/royal_caribbean_cruise_ship_fa.html Soiled plates in the clean buffet stack, missing safety signage and more than 30 fruit flies, dead and alive, were recently discovered on Monarch of the Seas by inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those and dozens... Maritime Matter of the Week Lipcon 2011-12-20T09:19:08-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/woman_accidently_falls_to_her.html The 26-year-old woman who died Monday night—after allegedly losing her balance and falling from the fourth-floor gangway on the Queen Mary into the cold waters below—has now been identified as Kelly Ryann Dorrell of Long Beach, CA. Dorrell was working... Cruise Line Crimes Lipcon 2011-12-13T09:37:47-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/researchers_developing_vaccine.html Despite the precautions that cruise lines take, we periodically see news reports about major outbreaks of “stomach flu” onboard. In recent weeks there have been two incidents of these cruise ship illnesses, believed to be caused by noroviruses, even though... Cruise Passenger S.O.S. Lipcon 2011-12-13T09:33:53-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/12/coast_guard_medevacs_cruise_sh_1.html PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - The Coast Guard was called to a cruise ship Monday to medevac a passenger who had gone into shock. The Norwegian Gem was 75 miles east of Wilmington, N.C. when the call came in to the... Cruise Passenger S.O.S. Lipcon 2011-12-12T10:49:21-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/investigation_concludes_after.html November 24, 2011 – Lyttelton, NZ The cruise ship accident cases that we handle here at Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina and Winkleman, P.A. don’t just represent injured passengers. Seamen are often plaintiffs in our cases because they are typically at greater... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2011-11-28T10:13:36-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/carnival_cruise_waiter_arreste.html November 23, 2011 – Miami, FL Another cruise ship rape involving an underage passenger has been reported in the news this week. Kert Clyde Jordan, hired by Carnival Cruise Lines as a waiter on the Liberty cruise ship, has been... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2011-11-28T10:07:00-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/serial_rapist_sentenced_follow.html Mobile, AL—Nov. 17, 2011 Declared by his judge to be a serial rapist, 19-year-old Dylan Cole Bloodsworth of Gautier, Mississippi has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl on a Carnival cruise ship in... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2011-11-28T10:02:11-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/us_tourist_dies_on_cruise_ship.html RIO DE JANEIRO – An American tourist died aboard a cruise liner which docked in the port of Rio Tuesday after Brazilian authorities were told that 86 people on board had been sickened by stomach flu. The woman died aboard... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2011-11-23T12:14:47-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/carnival_employee_accused_of_s.html A Carnival Cruise Lines employee has been charged with engaging in sexual acts with a minor, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern United States said in a release Tuesday. According to the criminal complaint filed, Kert Clyde Jordan,... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2011-11-22T12:00:00-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/celebrity_cruises_cancels_para.html Celebrity Cruises has canceled all parasailing trips in the Caribbean -- indefinitely -- following an accident in St. Thomas that left one passenger dead and another critically injured. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity's sister line, has followed suit. A 60-year-old passenger sailing... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2011-11-18T09:45:30-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/11/two_killed_in_130mph_crash_at.html Driver Jeffrey Tillman and throttleman Robert M Morgan died en route to hospital after they lost control of their 14m (46ft) Big Thunder Marine, which is powered by four 1,200bhp engines. Superboat International president John Carbonell said the force of... Boating Accidents Lipcon 2011-11-10T08:57:19-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/10/new_tbi_treatments_surface_to.html October 26, 2011. The latest developments in treating patients suffering from TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) continue to pop up in the press. The high number of injured soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with brain injuries and post-traumatic stress... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2011-10-26T09:47:39-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/10/bermuda_levies_steep_fines_to.html If you’re planning to visit Bermuda, leave your marijuana home—even if you need it “for medicinal reasons”. Known for its tough anti-drug laws, Bermuda’s customs officers routinely search arriving cruise ships looking for illegal substances. This latest cruise ship tourist... Cruise Ship Law Lipcon 2011-10-26T09:34:45-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/10/victim_of_cruise_ship_loss_hel.html Former Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman client Jamie Barnett spent countless hours on Capitol Hill fighting for the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act that passed in 2010. The clauses passed pertaining to the Act will go into affect in... Cruise Ship Law Lipcon 2011-10-25T14:22:21-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/10/3_turkish_sailors_dead_8_missi.html Three sailors have died and eight others are missing after a Turkish trade ship collided with a passenger ferry and sank in the Adriatic, Albanian port authorities said on Thursday. Sailing under a Maltese flag and loaded with aluminum, the... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2011-10-20T14:01:53-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/10/3_turkish_sailors_dead_8_missi_1.html Three sailors have died and eight others are missing after a Turkish trade ship collided with a passenger ferry and sank in the Adriatic, Albanian port authorities said on Thursday. Sailing under a Maltese flag and loaded with aluminum, the... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2011-10-20T12:00:00-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/10/cruise_ship_passenger_found_de.html A passenger aboard the cruise ship Maasdam is dead as an investigation is underway to find out how he ended up in the Northuberland Strait. In a statement issued from Seattle, Washington on Tuesday, Holland America Line says it's "thoughts... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2011-10-04T15:18:53-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/09/brain_injury_radios_weekly_bro.html September 26, 2011 – Next Monday, Oct. 3, Brain Injury Radio will celebrate one year of live broadcasts. What began with once-a-month shows in 2010, now airs weekly every Monday evening. Subtitled “The Silent or Hidden Epidemic”, this talk show... Catastrophic Injuries Lipcon 2011-09-26T12:38:48-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/09/carnival_passenger_jumped_over.html GALVESTON, Texas -- Mexican authorities are searching for a 39-year-old man who was seen jumping off a Carnival cruise ship near Cozumel. Carnival officials said the man reportedly jumped off the Conquest ship Friday night. The ship returned to the... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2011-09-25T11:36:08-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/09/sexassault_risk_greater_on_lin.html People thinking of getting away for a relaxing holiday at sea are being warned to take extra care following revelations hundreds of women have been sexually assaulted on cruise ships. The new research, jointly conducted by Canadian Professor Ross Klein... Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assault Lipcon 2011-09-22T10:57:41-05:00 http://blog.lipcon.com/2011/09/why_have_165_people_gone_missi.html On the evening of April 6 this year, John Halford packed his suitcase and left it outside the door of his cabin on the cruise liner Thomson Spirit. It was the last day of a week-long Egyptian cruise and the... Cruise Disappearances Lipcon 2011-09-21T10:27:02-05:00