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By Beth Stibal | April 5, 2020
Cruise Line Faces Negligence Lawsuits After 200 Get Coronavirus
A South Florida lawyer has filed COVID-19 negligence lawsuits on behalf of 16 families against a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines.
Debi Chalik, an attorney and founding partner of Chalik and Chalik Law Firm, made the complaints last week against Princess Cruises, which Carnival operates.
"Princess Cruises has shown an utter disregard for the safety of its passengers and crew members," the lawsuit states.
According to Chalik, the Diamond Princess was quarantined off the coast of Japan with about 700 cases of COVID-19 in early February.
Meanwhile, the Grand Princess departed from the west coast of the United States on February 21, and docked on March 5 in Oakland. That ship had 100 confirmed cases of the virus.
Chalik's plaintiffs were shuttled to military bases in California, Georgia, and Texas.
We need to correct inaccurate info found online and in some media. Read BOTH parts of this 2-tweet clarification from @CDCgov. Live, infectious virus was NOT found on #DiamondPrincess 17 days after cabins were vacated. @NEJM reports it survives on surfaces only up to 72 hours. https://t.co/gMtMJP4QzX
— Princess Cruises (@PrincessCruises) March 26, 2020
Despite the fact that the passengers had arrived from an infected ship, none of them were tested for the virus upon arrival.
She adds that the cruise line knowingly had nearly 200 passengers and crew members who were showing symptoms, and the company did nothing about it.
Read the lawsuit here: