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There are countless questions still surrounding the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship near Giglio Island in Italy on Friday. The injured victims of the accident and the family members of those who died are demanding the answers to two: Who is responsible and how will they be held accountable?
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"This is going to go down in history as one of the most interesting and horrible catastrophes at sea," John H. Hickey, a maritime trial attorney in Miami, told IBTimes. "We'll be talking about this in maritime community for long time."
The Concordia case is unique in its severity, and the only thing that's certain is that intense litigation will soon follow a rigorous police investigation. A class action suit has already been initiated by Codacons, an Italian consumer defense organization, and so far 70 passengers have already joined the suit.
"Our objective is to get each passenger at least $12,773 compensation for material damage and also for... the fear suffered, the holidays ruined and the serious risks endured," Codacons head Carlo Rienzi told the AFP.
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Because the ship never touched a port in the United States, all passengers regardless of their nationality will have to file suit at a court in Genoa, Italy. This is not part of any international law but rather written into the ticketing agreement for Costa.
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"As a passenger, you sign a contract with the cruise company," Mark Murphy, the CEO of Travalliance, told IBTimes, noting that most contracts make it difficult for cruise-goers to receive financial compensation for anything other than injury or death.
"You don't have a lot of rights," he added.
But Italy has different laws from the United States, and passengers should be able to receive some recompense for both personal injury and for the inconvenience of a canceled vacation.
Additionally, crew members of the Concordia will be able to sue Costa and Carnival, which owns the Italian cruise company, although the crew members have a different set of rules. At least one Peruvian crew member died in the crash.
"In maritime law, everything depends on the status of the injured person," Hickey, who used to work as an attorney for Carnival, noted.
There is also a broader spectrum of the types of injuries covered in Italy, and so the number of people who get paid will be greater. However, the amount that each gets paid will probably be less in Italy than it would be in the U.S., Hickey said.
The amount that Carnival will have to pay is still an unknown.
The Concordia was insured for about $500 million, which covers the price tag of the ship if it has to be scuttled. With a projected $90 million loss in revenue from the temporary loss of the Concordia from the Costa fleet, and with the public relations damage likely turning away future customers, Carnival will probably try to get in and out of court as fast and as cheaply as possible.
"Costa will definitely settle," Murphy said. "They will get to the table and figure out what they can do to make it right."
