Irwin Mitchell, Herbert Smith win Costa Concordia advisory roles
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Herbert Smith, Irwin Mitchell and Italian firm Giambrone Law are among a host of firms snapping up advisory roles following the grounding of cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Italian coast earlier this month.
It is understood that long-standing adviser Herbert Smith is advising Costa Cruises’ parent company, Carnival Corporation, over future bookings, with matters being handled by the firm’s Hong Kong-based insurance team.
Irwin Mitchell has been instructed by victims of the disaster, led by head of international travel litigation, Clive Garner. More than 100 passengers have already joined a class action and are reportedly seeking to claim more than £100,000 each.
Commenting on the disaster Garner said: “With thousands of passengers and crew on board this huge vessel, their safety should have been the first and only priority. Tragically, it seems that this was not the case and passengers and their families have paid a very heavy price.
“Following formal notification of our clients’ claims to the cruise line we hope to engage them in early negotiations but if this proves unsuccessful, legal proceedings will follow.”
He added that the number of victims coming forward to claim compensation “might rise substantially in the coming weeks.”
Also understood to have landed advisory roles are Clyde & Co, Norton Rose and Ince & Co, with personal injury firm Proner & Proner involved in the class action in the US. Italian firm Giambrone Law has also been instructed by a number of victims affected by the disaster.
The Costa Concordia ran aground after the captain, Francesco Schettino, allegedly sailed too close to the shores of Giglio island, hitting rocks which tore a hole in the ship’s hull. The current death toll stands at 15, with 19 still unaccounted for.
According to business analysts the accident is expected to be the most costly marine loss on record with reports estimating the total insurance loss to fall between $600m and $800m (£385m to £514m).
Readers' comments (5)
Francisco Sarrias | 24-Jan-2012 5:15 pm
It is interesting how this catastrophe relates to the Titanic and Columbia Shuttle, both of them were also caused by a chain of bad human decisions.
I recommend you this book that explains what happened there and it gives some clues of what could be going on the Costa Concordia:
http://www.amazon.com/Iceberg-Sighted-Decision-Making-Techniques-ebook/dp/B0064AS8CM
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Rural bliss | 25-Jan-2012 6:33 pm
"More than 100 passengers have already joined a class action and are reportedly seeking to claim more than £100,000 each."
£100k each? Are they 'avin' a larf?
OK, it was probably rather unpleasant, but most of them don't seem to have been physically injured to any extent, and they'll be able to dine out on it for years to come.
Bearing in mind that the JSB Guidelines only recommend £63,000 to £72.000 for the total loss of a hand and £36,000 to £43,000 for the total loss of an eye it would be obscene if these claimants received anything like £100k.
A couple of thou each would be more than enough unless they had identifiable physical injuries, and I hope the insurers Part 36 them at an early stage to take the wind out of their sails.
And typical crocodile tears talk from IM's rep - "Tragically ..." - puh-lease, tragic for those who died or were seriously injured, but not for the majority of uninjured passengers, who will be looking forward to weeping all the way to the bank.
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Anonymous | 27-Jan-2012 4:43 pm
Funnily enough, the only Italian firm mentioned is Giambrone Law, everyone else is UK-based. Issues of liability and causation can only be determined by applying Italian law, so IM and the likes are not best suited for the advisory role. Damages are also determined under Italian law so maybe the £100k figure per passenger is over optimistic?
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TWP | 27-Jan-2012 4:47 pm
@ rural bliss
If you look at JSB for psychiatric damage or PTSD then the top levels of this non-physical injury are £76,000.00. This of course does not include the physical injuries which could easily rank into the tens of thousands dependent on the level of damage. Also to consider are special damages, if you lost income, had to pay for flights home etc and also the price of the holiday is also included then this could easily run to the £100,000 mark.
Before making your comments you have to look at the devastaing effect that these disaters can have on peoples mental health. I doubt you would be so derisive had you been on the ship.
With Rural Bliss's daily mail style comment put to one side, Pannone's will surely be kicking themselves.
They have missed a trick on the GLO side of things.
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Anonymous | 2-Feb-2012 2:58 pm
Anyone thinking of going with Giambrone & Law would be well advised to do a bit of digging first. Myself and many other Brits have a case against him. I would advise not to use this firm.
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