Carnival Cruise Line has had another week of bad publicity. The United States Coast Guard is currently investigating the death of a member of the crew. The employee’s name has not been released.
The facts that are known are that on October 20, 2013, the crewman of the Carnival Conquest was performing maintenance on the ship. He utilized a device known as a man-lift which is often used to lift workers up the outside of the ship. While docked at the Port of New Orleans, the employee was crushed between the lift device and a platform holding a lifeboat. Carnival officials released a statement that detailed the efforts of medical personnel to save the crewman and reflected their deep condolences to the family of the crew member.
This admiralty law case will not be investigated by the United States Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which is the federal agency that is generally responsible for investigations into workplace injuries and deaths. In this case, because the deceased was the crewman of a Panamanian-flagged ship, it is being looked into by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Those who own ships and employ workers are responsible for the safety of those workers. When these workers are injured, the company is responsible for providing free medical care and basic living expenses to the injured. If it is found that Carnival is responsible for the death of this crew member, surviving family could seek a claim for compensation via the Jones Act. Any maritime worker that has been injured on the job can seek the advice of an admiralty attorney to determine their legal options.
Source: www.nola.com, “Coast Guard investigating death of Carnival cruise-ship crew member,” Katherine Sayre, October 21, 2013
