SerpApi.Org
Many surviving passengers of the Costa Concordia sinking only received $12,600 (€11,000) for the tragedy.
On Friday, January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia, a luxury cruise liner, crashed off the coast of Italy. After the captain changed the ship's course, the boat hit a shoal of rocks, leaving a mammoth gash in its hull.
The captain, Francesco Schettino, did not immediately raise the alarm, with the evacuation order not going out until 90 minutes after the collision. Errors made that night led to the deaths of 32 people, including a five-year-old girl, who was sucked under by vortex-like water while in her father's arms as the boat sank.
• Shakira's World Cup performance has unexpected result - and ex Gerard Piqué won't be happy
• Donald Trump's assistant asked if she 'changed his diaper' after awkward World Cup moment
Following the tragedy, survivors and victims' families were given settlements by the ship's owner, Costa Cruises. However, many watching the Netflix documentary about the tragedy, Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea, may have been surprised by the amount of compensation received.
As noted at the end of the documentary, all surviving, uninjured passengers were offered a flat payment of $12,600 (€11,000) to cover cruise refunds, lost luggage and psychological support. Roughly a third of passengers accepted this, while others pursued lawsuits.
These passengers were also fully reimbursed for all travel expenses and received a 100% refund on the vacation, as well as onboard and medical expenses.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror US, Jason R. Margulies, partner and maritime attorney at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A, delved into why passengers received such a low sum.
"On the low end, passenger compensation was low because the passengers being compensated did not suffer physical injuries, nor did they have significantly treated psychological impairments," Margulies explained.
Continuing, he explained further as to why, "This low number was the product of deliberate regulations and a treaty cap that favored the cruise line."
Moreover, Margulies referenced lawsuits filed in the United States, which were not held up due to a court ruling that another jurisdiction, Italy, was significantly better suited to handle it. Another reason the lawsuits were thrown out in the US was due to a clause in the ticket contract which stated they must be filed in Genoa, Italy.
During the lawsuit, which was filed in Florida by lawyers representing 500 passengers, attorneys sought $10 million in personal damages and $450 million in punitive damages, calling Costa's baseline €11,000 offer "insulting." The group demanded $160,000 per passenger.
Explaining the situation, Margulies told us, "The compensation awards were comparatively low because the suits could not be maintained in the United States and, instead, had to be filed in Italy.
"Also, the lower awards were a product of the mass suit, and a compensation scheme that had to provide an award for each passenger - including those that did not suffer significant physical or emotional damages, per the court."
However, it is worth noting that some passengers, as well as victims' families, received a higher payout from Costa Cruises. For example, court records show the company paid out tens of millions in confidential settlements to the relatives of the victims.
The families of the five crew members who died received €6,721,918 ($7,676,968) in total, whereas €1.34 million ($1.53 million) per family was received on average by relatives of deceased passengers.
But interestingly, three families weren't included in this. The family of American couple Gerald and Barbara Heil initially refused to settle and fiercely attempted to bypass the strict maritime contract rules by suing the parent company, Carnival Corporation, in federal court in Miami.
After years of being blocked by American judges who consistently ruled that the case belonged entirely in Italy, the family was legally forced out of the US courts. They ultimately entered into a private, confidential out-of-court settlement with Costa Cruises' insurers.
The second family, whose French loved one died in the tragedy, refused to settle early and their legal team successfully negotiated a highly customized, private restructuring settlement which is believed to be significantly higher than others received.
Finally, one passenger from Germany died without any heirs, with the state having to track down any distant family members. Once the complex genealogical and legal paperwork was finalized, the standard restitution funds allocated for her death were released and transferred directly to her legally recognized distant heirs and her estate.
Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea is now available to stream on Netflix.
