Costa Cruise Line announced a settlement for most of the passengers who survived the tragedy that crippled the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia two weeks ago.The agreement offers uninjured passengers about $14,460 and it turns out, that number is causing quite a stir.
Is it enough? Is it too much? And could anything really compensate passengers for the life-threatening ordeal?
Well, everyone is different, and while the $14,000 could be fine for some, it could be insulting to others.
FOX23 News talked to local personal injury attorney Donald Boyajian Friday evening.
Boyajian says the other thing to consider is if passengers take the deal, they probably give up the right to sue forever.
“Some people will cope with it well, it will haunt other people for the rest of their lives,” Boyajian said.
He calls it a tactical economic decision, saying Costa Cruise Line, owned by Carnival Corporation, is most likely trying to avoid as many lawsuits as possible.
“A lot of people would be much more interested in having some sort of settlement they know is in hand and get this ordeal behind them and move on with their lives,” Boyajian said.
The agreement goes out only to uninjured passengers to cover the loss of baggage, and personal distress.
“It still doesn't really seem real,” explained Duanesburg resident Joan Fleser who was aboard the Costa Concordia with her husband, Brian Aho, and their daughter Alana.
In an interview taped the day they returned from Italy, Joan, Brian, and Alana told us they lost seven suitcases, laptop computers, and invaluable family jewels.
“We're trying to scrape together enough clothes to go to work,” Brian explained.
Joan told us Friday, she's done the calculations and the more than $40,000 they'd get as a family still wouldn't cover their material losses.
And she says it won't even begin to help them heal from the trauma of that night.
The agreement does not cover passengers who were injured, nor the families of those who died.
Already, lawyers representing passengers say the settlement is too little and they're planning to file lawsuits in Italy and the United States.
A crew member has already filed a class action suit against Carnival Corporation - claiming negligence for unsafe evacuations.
Boyajian says families who lost loved ones in the cruise liner crash could be looking at wrongful death suits.
But he says with more than 4,000 passengers and crew from all different countries, and matters of jurisdiction and liability, these lawsuits could get pretty complex and lengthy.
That, he says, may push some people to accept the $14,460 settlement, and try to move forward.
