Holland America is accused of failing to reasonably and properly screen crewmembers who would have card key access to crew cabins
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) May 29, 2015
Nationally known maritime trial attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey is representing a woman seeking punitive damages after the suspect plead guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. The victim was beaten, strangled, and assaulted by a Holland America Cruise Line room service attendant in the passenger’s own cabin. The civil lawsuit (Case 2:15-cv-00087) was filed in the United States District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle where Holland America’s U.S. operations are based.
In the new court case, among the assortment of charges listed in the complaint, Holland America is accused of failing to reasonably and properly screen crewmembers who would have card key access to crew cabins; failing to sufficiently to monitor passenger activity and excessive noise and human screaming which would indicate an emergency and a cry for help; failing to respond timely to complaints of attacks or altercations within a cabin; failing to ascertain the cause of prior similar incidents so as to take measures to prevent its re-occurrence, and more particularly this incident; and failing to provide sufficient security personnel to be able to adequately monitor the activities of people and the physical plant of the ship and to respond to emergencies timely and adequately so as to prevent injuries to personnel onboard including crewmembers.
The complaint demands from Holland America Line punitive damages as well as compensatory damages for the injuries. The trial is set for November 7, 2016.
Hickey is a trial lawyer at Hickey Law Firm, P.A. and is Board Certified by The Florida Bar as a Civil Trial Lawyer and as an Admiralty and Maritime Lawyer. Hickey represented the cruise lines for the first 17 years of his career. For the last 18 years, he has represented passengers in their claims against the cruise lines. Hickey is a Past President of the Dade County Bar Association and currently serves on Board of Governors of The Florida Bar.
Hickey Law Firm, P.A. handles catastrophic injury cases in the fields of cruise ship, trucking, automobile, medical malpractice, premises liability, product liability, and negligent security. For more information visit http://www.hickeylawfirm.com.
