Sarasota man suing Royal Caribbean after cruise ship crash



[ad_1]

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) – A man from Sarasota was nearly killed while he was on a cruise ship leaving Miami.

He was on a trampoline on the bridge when things went wrong. Now he is suing Royal Caribbean and demanding changes.

On February 9, Casey Holladay, age 26, was aboard the Mariner of the Seas with his friends and decided to use a brand new attraction, "The Skypad".

It's a series of trampolines locked in a cage. Users attach themselves to elastic ropes and can perform acrobatic turns in the air.

This afternoon, things went terribly wrong. The bungee cord broke and Holladay plunged nearly 20 feet onto the hard deck underneath.

"Casey was super athletic, active, healthy, then in a split second, and is now looking at an injury that will touch him for the rest of his life," said Brett Rivkind.

Rivkind says Holladay has fractured the pelvis and is now handicapped. He uses a wheelchair and will likely need a hip replacement and a lifetime treatment.

"He could become paralyzed. He could have banged his head. Ge could have been killed, so yes, his life was unnecessarily threatened by this incident, "said Rivkind.

So he pursues Royal Caribbean. According to Rivkind, cruise line staff are not sufficiently trained to operate and maintain these dangerous attractions.

"These attractions are managed by the Cruise Ship Hotel Operations Department and, in my opinion, they do not have the expertise to properly consider the risk of these attractions to safety," said Rivkind.

"What makes me angry is that there is a demand and pressure to put more and more entertainment and attractions to occupy all passengers."

Rivkind adds that the cruise ship has placed the attraction in a potentially dangerous location.

"Here you put it on a basketball court, a hard surface and there was no protective padding," said Rivkind.

Holladay sued Royal Caribbean in federal court. The cruise line will not comment on the camera,

They issued a brief statement saying, "We do not comment on ongoing litigation, we operate all our vessels in a safe, professional and responsible manner."

Rivkind warns you if you are about to go on a cruise.

"Use caution when using an attraction – we do not really know how safe or dangerous these attractions are," said Rivkind.

Rivkind explained that the cruise lines worked with the builders, but often changed or adapted the ride to fit their ship and there was little supervision.

"Maintaining this type of activity is very important, as are daily checks, including daily inspections, including checking the weight of people who use the harnesses to be able to assess appropriate tensions," he said. he declares. Explain.

Rivkind says this incident is still under investigation.

[ad_2]

Source link