Grand Princess cruise couple sues over 'lackadaisical' coronavirus response
A Florida couple onboard a cruise ship stricken with the coronavirus has filed a $1m lawsuit against the boat’s operator, Princess Cruises, for failing to protect passengers amid the global Covid-19 outbreak.
“As a result of [Princess Cruises’] lackadaisical approach to the safety of the plaintiffs, its passengers and crew about the Grand Princess, plaintiffs are at actual risk of immediate physical injury,” reads the lawsuit filed this week by Ronald and Eva Weissberger in a federal court in Los Angeles.
The Weissbergers were holidaying on the Grand Princess, when 21 people onboard the ship were found to have contracted the coronavirus. They allege the cruise linefailed to put in place preventive measures, including more rigorous screening for those boarding the ship and an opportunity for people to disembark in Hawaii.
“[Princess Cruises] had numerous occasions where they should have known they needed to have precautions in place, and they failed to act appropriately,” said Jason Chalik, an attorney representing the couple. Chalik is also the couple’s son-in-law.
Chalik and his wife, Debi, say they are now representing six families who were on the ill-fated cruise.
Princess Cruises said in a statement that it had not been served with any lawsuit relating to the ship, and it would not comment on pending litigation. “Princess has been sensitive to the difficulties the Covid-19 outbreak has caused to our guests and crew,” the company said.
“Our response throughout this process has focused on the wellbeing of our guests and crew within the parameters mandated on us by the government agencies involved and the evolving medical understanding of this new illness.”
According to Chalik, the Weissbergers, who are 74 and 69 years old, boarded the Grand Princess on 21 February looking forward to a “bucket-list” trip of seeing Hawaii’s sights and playing bridge on the ship.
As the Grand Princess reached Hawaii, a 75-year-old man in California who had previously been onboard was transported to the hospital. He died on 4 March. It was California’s first death attributed to the new disease.
Roughly 60 passengers on the trip to Hawaii were also on the previous cruise and may have had contact with the infected person.
Still, Chalik said, the Grand Princess did not inform those onboard that a former passenger had fallen ill and did not give them a chance to get off the ship in Hawaii.
“We called [the Weissbergers] and asked if they were quarantined. They said, ‘No, we’re playing bridge.’ We couldn’t believe it. We asked, ‘You’re playing bridge with other passengers? And you’re touching the same cards?’
They had no idea,” Chalik said.
The ship quarantined the 60 passengers who had been on both legs of the journey. It was not until later that they told all passengers they had to stay in their rooms, Chalik said.
The ship headed back towards California but on 4 March was delayed off the coast while government officials formulated a plan to deal with infected passengers.
In a dramatic scene, a coast guard helicopter delivered coronavirus tests to the ship as it idled offshore. Of the 45 who were tested, 19 crew members and two passengers tested positive for the coronavirus.
As Grand Princess waited to return to shore, Donald Trump publicly expressed reluctance to bring the ship home.
“I like the numbers where they are,” Trump said. “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.”
“They were in shock,” Chalik said of the Weissbergers’ reaction to comments from the president.
“They actually like a lot of what Donald Trump has to say, and here he’s talking about them like they’re just numbers. They’re not numbers, they’re my kids’ grandparents.”
The Grand Princess was finally allowed to return and on Monday afternoon docked in Oakland. California passengers who disembarked will undergo a 14-day quarantine and will be subject to further testing. .
The Weissbergers left the ship on Tuesday evening and were taken to Travis air force base, north-east of Oakland. Chalik said they had still not been tested for the coronavirus by Tuesday night.
“I don’t think the government really wants to know how many people are sick because they don’t want to look bad,” he said.