Relax - Costa passenger sues over miscarriage

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ROME - A pregnant woman who miscarried after the cruise ship wreck off the coast of Italy last month is set to sue the vessel's owners for one million euros (S$1.6 million) in damages, Italian media said on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Italian, identified only as Cristina M, was four months pregnant when she set off on the Costa Concordia cruise on Jan 13. Though she escaped the sinking ship in a lifeboat, she was admitted to hospital last week with a miscarriage.

Her doctors said she likely lost her baby because of the intense psychological stress suffered both during the night-time evacuation and when her lifeboat smashed up against rocks as it headed for the nearby shore.

Christina M's lawyers will add her to a class action against Costa Crociere and seek one million euros in damages for the miscarriage, reports said.

The 114,500-tonne liner with more than 4,200 people aboard ran aground on rocks off Tuscany's Giglio Island and lurched on to its side as passengers were settling down to dinner shortly after the start of a Mediterranean cruise.

Up to 32 people are feared to have died in the January 13 disaster, which has led to a host of legal claims against the stricken ship's parent companies.

Costa Crociere and advocacy groups representing survivors have struck a deal in which around 3,000 survivors are to receive 11,000 euros each plus the cost of the cruise and expenses.

Six passengers in the United States however are suing Carnival Lines, Costa Crociere's parent company, demanding compensation totalling US$460 million (S$571.3 million).

In France a number of passengers have rejected the deal and filed legal complaints with the French courts, and in Germany, a group of 19 tourists have filed criminal charges against the captain Francesco Schettino.

See also:

	Photos: Italian cruise ship mishap The Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it hit a reef near the Isola del Giglio late Friday.
	Video: Anxious passengers jammed into waiting areas New amateur video shows life-jacket wearing passengers jammed into a ship hallway to wait for rescue boats.
	Captain left Italy ship amid panic: Filipino crew Ship steward credits the captain for steering the ship towards nearby island after it ran into trouble, but says he made a mistake by leaving immediately.
	Dutch crews prepare to pump fuel out of Italian shipwreck The Smit Salvage team said it would first carry out security checks at the scene before syphoning the oil out.
	Stricken ship captain blames company pressure: Reports Francesco Schettino told a friend he was following the advice of a manager about what route to take.
	Vietnamese survive cruise crash The Costa Concordia employees are 'in good health' and are staying at a hotel in Rome.
	Analysis: Ship disaster unlikely to prompt quick safety changes Industry experts say the problem is one of cost - the cost of more comprehensive training schemes like those used in the military.
	Timeline of Italian cruise ship disaster Costa Concordia ran aground near a Tuscan island and keeled over on Friday, leaving at least 11 people dead. Here's a timeline of the disaster.
	What you sign away when you buy a cruise ticket A "ticket" is actually a contract that can run more than a dozen pages, and gives away more rights to the cruise ship company than you may realise.
	Captain of doomed Italian liner a 'high-spirited dare devil' Francesco Schettino, 52, faces allegations of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
	Italian coastguard heard pleading with liner captain A newspaper has released what it said was a recording of ship-to-shore radio communications in which enraged coastguards repeatedly order him back on board.
	Cruise company criticises captain as death tolls hits five Prosecutors say the captain had left the stricken liner 'well before' the last passengers were evacuated.
	Chinese tourists on stricken Italy ship safe Rescue teams searching for about 40 people as liner captain arrested.
	S. Korea couple tell of 30-hour nightmare in sinking ship The pair shouted for help until they were hoarse, promising each other they would 'have a good life together' if they escaped.
	13 Taiwanese tourists on Italian cruise safe Travel agency says it has made arrangements for the tourists to fly back to Taiwan by noon today.
	Italy disaster could hit cruise industry The accident could hardly have come at a worse time, with the global economic crisis already making potential cruise customers nervous about their jobs and finances.
	Captain left Italy ship amid panic: Filipino crew Ship steward credits the captain for steering the ship towards nearby island after it ran into trouble, but says he made a mistake by leaving immediately.
	Dutch crews prepare to pump fuel out of Italian shipwreck The Smit Salvage team said it would first carry out security checks at the scene before syphoning the oil out.
	Stricken ship captain blames company pressure: Reports Francesco Schettino told a friend he was following the advice of a manager about what route to take.

Costa passenger sues over miscarriage

AFP | Wed, Feb 8 2012

Her doctors said she likely lost her baby because of intense psychological stress.

Keywords

Christina M's lawyers will add her to a class action against Costa Crociere and seek one million euros in damages for the miscarriage, reports said.

Up to 32 people are feared to have died in the January 13 disaster, which has led to a host of legal claims against the stricken ship's parent companies.

Costa Crociere and advocacy groups representing survivors have struck a deal in which around 3,000 survivors are to receive 11,000 euros each plus the cost of the cruise and expenses.

Six passengers in the United States however are suing Carnival Lines, Costa Crociere's parent company, demanding compensation totalling US$460 million (S$571.3 million).

See also:

	Photos: Italian cruise ship mishap The Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it hit a reef near the Isola del Giglio late Friday.
	Video: Anxious passengers jammed into waiting areas New amateur video shows life-jacket wearing passengers jammed into a ship hallway to wait for rescue boats.
	Captain left Italy ship amid panic: Filipino crew Ship steward credits the captain for steering the ship towards nearby island after it ran into trouble, but says he made a mistake by leaving immediately.
	Dutch crews prepare to pump fuel out of Italian shipwreck The Smit Salvage team said it would first carry out security checks at the scene before syphoning the oil out.
	Stricken ship captain blames company pressure: Reports Francesco Schettino told a friend he was following the advice of a manager about what route to take.
	Vietnamese survive cruise crash The Costa Concordia employees are 'in good health' and are staying at a hotel in Rome.
	Analysis: Ship disaster unlikely to prompt quick safety changes Industry experts say the problem is one of cost - the cost of more comprehensive training schemes like those used in the military.
	Timeline of Italian cruise ship disaster Costa Concordia ran aground near a Tuscan island and keeled over on Friday, leaving at least 11 people dead. Here's a timeline of the disaster.
	What you sign away when you buy a cruise ticket A "ticket" is actually a contract that can run more than a dozen pages, and gives away more rights to the cruise ship company than you may realise.
	Captain of doomed Italian liner a 'high-spirited dare devil' Francesco Schettino, 52, faces allegations of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
	Italian coastguard heard pleading with liner captain A newspaper has released what it said was a recording of ship-to-shore radio communications in which enraged coastguards repeatedly order him back on board.
	Cruise company criticises captain as death tolls hits five Prosecutors say the captain had left the stricken liner 'well before' the last passengers were evacuated.
	Chinese tourists on stricken Italy ship safe Rescue teams searching for about 40 people as liner captain arrested.
	S. Korea couple tell of 30-hour nightmare in sinking ship The pair shouted for help until they were hoarse, promising each other they would 'have a good life together' if they escaped.
	13 Taiwanese tourists on Italian cruise safe Travel agency says it has made arrangements for the tourists to fly back to Taiwan by noon today.
	Italy disaster could hit cruise industry The accident could hardly have come at a worse time, with the global economic crisis already making potential cruise customers nervous about their jobs and finances.
	Captain left Italy ship amid panic: Filipino crew Ship steward credits the captain for steering the ship towards nearby island after it ran into trouble, but says he made a mistake by leaving immediately.
	Dutch crews prepare to pump fuel out of Italian shipwreck The Smit Salvage team said it would first carry out security checks at the scene before syphoning the oil out.
	Stricken ship captain blames company pressure: Reports Francesco Schettino told a friend he was following the advice of a manager about what route to take.