Covid 19 coronavirus: Ruby Princess cruise lawsuit crash claim

Cruise ship operator Ruby Princess knew of the coronavirus outbreaks while the ship was at sea and “recklessly” put the lives of passengers at risk, according to a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who died after disembarking.

Princess Cruises is being sued for nearly $ 1.6 million by relatives of US citizen Chung Chen, who died earlier this month as a result of the pandemic when he returned home to Los Angeles.

The Ruby Princess is at the center of one of Australia’s largest groups after the ship visited the ports of New Zealand and Australia, and allowed passengers to depart in Sydney when many felt sick.

The virus crossed the ship and caused cases in Australia and New Zealand. Sixteen cases at Hawke’s Bay have been linked to the ship that docked at Napier on March 14.

Detectives have begun interviewing thousands of witnesses about what they knew about possible cases of Covid-19 aboard the cruise ship before it returned and docked in Sydney more than three weeks ago.

Since the landing in Sydney, 18 passengers on the ship have died and hundreds of confirmed cases have been linked to the ship.

Chung Chen’s widow Juishan Hsu and her daughter Vivian seek damages in the California District Court as the death toll from cases involving the infamous ship reaches 21.

Princess Cruises “chose to place the proceeds on the safety of its passengers, crew and the general public to continue operating as usual,” the lawsuit states.

The wife and daughter of the deceased man, who were also infected with the virus, did not know there was an outbreak on the boat until they got home.

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“The case against Princess Cruises is based on corporate negligence and gross corporate negligence, they embarked on March 8 knowing there was a great risk of exposing their passengers to COVID-19,” family lawyer Debi Chalik told the ABC.

“While they were on the boat, they had no idea that something was going on.”

“There was no reason for them to know that anything other than an ordinary cruise was happening. They didn’t realize there was an outbreak on the ship until they got home.”

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, accuses the company of allowing passengers to board without being selected to join the crew that had already been exposed to the deadly virus.

This negligent action allowed the pandemic to “run rampant” on board the ship, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“They didn’t even bother to notify passengers that there was a real outbreak, which allowed navigation to continue as if it were a normal cruise, until the moment it returned to Australia three days earlier,” he says.

A criminal investigation into the ship and its links to the coronavirus cases continues as parent company Carnival Corporation denies the allegations.

“As this is the subject of active litigation in another country, we do not wish to add any further comments at this time,” a spokesperson according to SMH said.

• Covid19.govt.nz – The official government Covid-19 advisory website