Two Wrongful Death Lawsuits Filed against NCL

Maritime lawyers at Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman have filed two wrongful death cases from the Norwegian Cruise Line lifeboat collapse that took place in the summer of 2016.

Almost two years ago, the crew aboard the Norwegian Breakaway was performing routine safety drills on the ship.

During the drill, a line on the davit snapped, causing a lifeboat to hang from a single wire. Not long after, the lifeboat fell into the water. The event resulted in the injury and ultimate death of two Filipino crewmembers, according to the law firm.

One of the crew, Diogenes Carpio, was killed immediately. The second, Ben Buenaventura, sustained serious injuries that led to his death one month later.

“Ultimately, we allege that both deaths could have been prevented if Norwegian Cruise Line had not demonstrated such grievous negligence,” the law firm said.

This incident is just one in a recent string of lifeboat deaths or injuries to crewmember working aboard cruise ships, all of which appear to involve crewmembers who were in lifeboats being lowered or raised during routine drills.

In September 2016, just months after the NCL Breakaway incident, two crew were killed and several others injured after the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas’ lifeboat collapsed while the ship was in France.