Carnival Reaches Consumer Settlement as Cruise Ship Wreck Sparks Lawsuits

Passengers on the Concordia ship that ran aground early this month have been offered a settlement of $14,500 each from Costa Crociere Spa, Carnival Corp's Italian arm that worked with consumer groups is Italy, Germany, France, and Spain to reach the agreement. This offer does not include the reimbursement of expenses that Costa has also agreed to -- including the cost of the cruise ticket. Families of those who were injured or killed as a result of the incident will be offered separate compensation.

The complaint was filed yesterday in Chicago by Gary Lobaton, crew member of the Concordia who is representing the ship's passengers in a class-action lawsuit. Italian criminal lawyer Giulia Bongiorno will file a complaint on behalf of Italian prosecutors next week. Codacons, an Italian consumer group, has already issued a statement advising passengers not to accept the officer. The statement indicates it would hope for compensation in the amount of "at least" 125,000 euro per passenger, and compensation in excess of one million euro for more serious cases.

Italian consumer group ADOC estimates that 85% of passengers will accept the $14,500 settlement amount, plus reimbursement of expenses. If the ADOC projections are correct, Carnival Corp's liability could exceed 40 million euros. However, according to Moody's Investor Service, insurance costs of the crash could end up in excess of $1 billion, once companies factor in injuries and environmental damages.

Read the full article here.

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The Law Offices of Arnold Laub represents clients in private personal injury cases, as well as class action lawsuits. Our offices have been successful in bringing class action cases against the Fen Phen diet drug company, the City of Richmond, and others. Contact the Law Offices of Arnold Laub if you or someone you know has suffered damages as a result of a faulty product, or negligence like that of the Concordia's captain. Consultations are free.

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