A Massachusetts woman died onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship this week. The fatal accident occurred when the 47 year-old woman fell down a flight of stairs and struck her head. The ship docked in Fort Lauderdale and Broward Sheriff’s Office officials were there to meet them. The woman was taken to the ship’s infirmary after the incident and she was pronounced dead roughly one hour after the accident. In light of the Costa Concordia disaster, this accident reminds us that cruise ships can be dangerous even when a ship wide disaster is not involved.
Many cruise ship accidents involve passengers falling or tripping and hurting themselves. The woman had just left the ship’s night club when she tripped. It was roughly 1:48 a.m. when she struck her head during the fall down the steps. Homicide detectives inspected the site of the incident, but do not suspect any crime was committed in connection with the fall.
While an autopsy may reveal further details, it appears this was a tragic slip and fall injury. While cruise ship injuries are not uncommon, it is still a tragedy when what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation turns deadly. Many questions remain unanswered about what led to this fatal fall, but for the loved ones left behind, those answers will be cold comfort for what they have lost.
Before choosing to go on a cruise, it is important to review the safety record of the company running the ship. The fine print on a cruise line ticket contains many provisions which make it difficult or impossible to recover compensation after an injury. If you still decide that a cruise is the right vacation for you, you should at least be prepared for what will happen if you are injured during the trip.
Source: Taunton Daily Gazette, “Middleboro woman dies after fall on cruise ship,” 30 January 201
