Royal Carribean Toddler Death: Mom Sues Cruise Ship After Child Falls Off 11th Floor

The latest cruise news says that Royal Carribean Cruises will be sued by Kimberley Wiegand, the mother of toddler Chloe Wiegand who died of a fatal fall from the 11th floor of the company’s cruise ship on July 7th in Puerto Rico.

The cruise ship Freedom of the Seas was docked in Puerto Rico when the mishap involving the 18-month-old girl happened.

Speaking on NBC's Today show Kimberley Wiegand, the toddler’s mother said her family will sue Royal Caribbean Cruises for the child’s death caused by “not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship.”

This was the mother’s first-ever appearance on a TV show after the incident. In her conversation with the host, she slammed the cruise company.

“There are a million things that could've been done to make that safer. I know my mom was asking people, why on earth is there a window open on the 11th floor without a screen or anything?” asked Wiegand who belongs to South Bend, Indiana.

Serious negligence of passenger safety

The toddler's mother rejected the cruise company’s explanation that the open window was meant for ventilation.

“I never want another mother to have to experience this or to see what I had to see or to scream how I had to scream," she told NBC.

Both Kimberly Wiegand and husband Alan recalled the horrifying moment when they understood what happened.

“I just kept saying, 'Take me to my baby. Where's my baby?' I didn't even notice a window. I ran over there, and I looked over, and it wasn't water down there, it was concrete. To lose our baby this way is just unfathomable,” the sobbing mother said.

The family's attorney Michael Winkleman also questioned the police report in a Puerto Rico that said Chloe Wiegand's grandfather dropped the toddler out of a window.

Winkleman said: “There's no doubt this was an accident.”

The lawyer said the big question was where were the safety measures that should have been in place?

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean officials said they are cooperating with the investigation and are “deeply saddened by this incident.”

“We have assisted the authorities in San Juan with their inquiries, and they are the appropriate people to address further questions,” the cruise line’s statement added.

Lawmaker seeks more accountability in cruise deaths

Meanwhile, American Senator Deb Fischer from the Republican Party introduced a bill seeking “greater accountability for cruise lines when passengers die.”

The bill was named after Larry and Christy Hammer of Omaha who died in a cabin fire onboard a Peruvian river cruise in April 2016.

The investigation into Hammers' deaths found serious safety violations on the part of the cruise company.

Currently, the law governing accountability for ships on deaths is the century-old Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) that provides for financial assistance to dependents.

The lawmaker said: “The cruise industry uses DOHSA to avoid financial accountability for the wrongful deaths of passengers.”

The act was amended in 2000 to allow more compensation for victims of airline accidents but did not cover cruise ships to enhance their accountability.

As a result, cruise ships are still bound by the pre-World War II era provisions.

Fisher wanted compensation to the dependents of cruise ship accidents to fully reflect the gravity of the cruise ship’s negligence.