Posted on 07/30/2018 9:24:23 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Family members who lost loved ones when a duck boat sank in Missouri’s Table Rock Lake earlier this month have filed suit against the companies involved in the incident, claiming that the boat’s operators knew that their boat designs and weather conditions made the July 19 excursion unsafe.
Seventeen people died when the boat sank as powerful winds swept through the area. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said the victims ranged in age from 1 to 76 years old and included nine members of the Coleman family. Eleven of the Colemans were on the Ride the Ducks Branson boat when it sank after traveling to the city for an annual family road trip, according to multiple reports.
The federal lawsuit was filed Sunday on behalf of two members of the Indiana-based Coleman family. Others killed were from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday that family members were seeking $100 million in damages as part of the lawsuit. In the filing, family members said Ride the Ducks Branson owner Ripley Entertainment, “recklessly risked the lives of its passengers for purely financial reasons.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wpxi.com ...
Who didn’t see that coming? /s
Say Buh-Bye to your business, idiots.
A lawsuit???? I’m surprised it took them this long.
This lawsuit is justified.
I’m sure they have been liquidating since the day it happened.
But the amount is outrageous.
It's actually kinda complicated the way they have these death traps configured. When originally commissioned and manufactured, these vehicles didn't have tops. They were open to the air. If they sank, occupants floated out. But....
For tourist comfort, these have had modifications to protect the occupants from the weather and see spray. This is pretty common. And there is little regulation because they are not quite a boat. The roof, with little in the way of emergency exit, causes a problem with life vests. If you put a vest on before exiting the boat, you could be trapped in the boat. Like a plane, the life vest will cause drowning if used before exiting the craft.
Also, the vests will float in the sinking boat and likely can't be brought out if any swimming out of the wreck is required. It is likely, considering the means of emergency exit, that life vests would hinder evacuation.
The lawsuit is certainly in order. But for other reasons besides "requiring" life vests.
Justified because the captain reportedly told riders they didn’t need to wear life jackets.
You are right, this business is history. But, I would also counter that there has to be some common sense utilized by those customers. No life jackets? Water rough to begin with. Seems to me that in addition to common sense there should have been a fear factor applied.
The weather reports might scuttle that lawsuit.
NO ONE PRENENTED them from pulling down the life vests & putting them on.
Apparently, time stamps from boat records & time stamp from weather report states that the boat ENTERED the lake when water was calm.
Weather changed in just seconds.
I’m not big on torts but they’ll get something
My family went on fishing/camping trip to Kootenay Lake, Canada when I was about 14. My dad rented a 12 foot aluminum boat and me, my brother, and dad went out to catch some fish. It was as calm as could be until the storm blew in. It was all we could do to keep from capsizing. The waves ranged from 3-5 foot. It was quite scary.
The point is what starts as clouds building, to over cast skies and slight breeze can turned into a full on storm with near gale force winds pretty quick.
What if the duck boat had had no roof and the passengers were wearing life jackets? Worst case, they would have wound up in the water as the boat sank; drenched, frightened, but breathing because of their flotation devices.
Or would that have reduced the number of passengers?
The bigger issue is the company sending the boat out into a storm.
Sure, they should sue but they also need to take a look in the mirror. Not one of them knew how to swim but they went out on the water anyway. It’s a crime against nature not to teach your kids to swim.
As soon as I saw I would be riding in a totally enclosed “boat”, I would not be in line to buy a ticket.
“NO ONE PRENENTED them from pulling down the life vests & putting them on.”
If you knew the first thing about a Duck boat, you’d know what a dumb and ignorant statement that was.
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