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Passengers sue Carnival for lifetime payments
A group of passengers is suing Carnival for damages of up to $5,000 a year each for the rest of their lives for ongoing medical and mental health problems they claimed they suffered after being left adrift on a cruise ship for days.
The lawsuit brought by 33 passengers follows an engine fire on the Triumph, which caused the ship to stall in the Gulf of Mexico where it was left drifting without power for five days in 2013.
Passengers claim they were forced to sleep on deck due to a lack of air-conditioning and they described human waste seeping into hallways when the toilets ceased to flush. There was also no cooked food.
Three of the passengers are seeking damages of $5000 a year for life while the rest are seeking $2,500 to $5,000 for four to five years, said Reuters.
A federal judge in South Florida last week finished hearing three weeks of testimony from passengers and is expected to issue a judgment in the next two months.
The Miami lawsuit is the first from the Triumph incident to go to trial but there are others pending.
In a statement, Carnival Corp said that while it recognizes its guests experienced uncomfortable conditions, everyone returned safely and were provided with a full refund, a free future cruise and an additional $500 per person.
"This is an opportunistic lawsuit brought by plaintiff’s counsel and plaintiffs who seek to make a money grab," a company spokeswoman said.
One of the plaintiffs, Debra Oubre, 59, said she has experienced panic and anxiety attacks since the cruise, and also blames the experience for a urinary tract infection.
"It was chaotic. People were in dire need of help," said Oubre. "We were standing in line for food for two hours."
Carnival has since started a fleet-wide "enhancement," including a major re-wiring of its engine rooms and improvements to fire safety and emergency power features.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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