A car driving off a bridge is prima facie evidence of negligence.
Posted on 08/26/2024 3:31:31 AM PDT by protest1
Captain James Cutfield, a 51-year old New Zealand national, is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck, the dailies La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera said.
Magistrates spoke to Cutfield on Sunday for the second time in a week, la Repubblica reported, questioning him for more than two hours. It said prosecutors may also investigate a crew member who was on duty when the storm hit and survived the incident.
...........
“The Bayesian was built to go to sea in any weather”, Franco Romani, a nautical architect that was part of the team that designed it told daily La Stampa in an interview published on Monday.
He said it was likely the yacht had taken on water from a side hatch that was left open.
Romani said the crew underestimated the bad weather and that they should have made sure that all openings had been shut and the anchor removed before the storm hit the boat.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It seems as though they should prove that it was “operator error” first, and then see whether the criteria for “manslaughter” are met.
Sounds a little “Titanicish”.
Negligence causing death IS manslaughter. They apparently failed to batten the hatches, a fundamental crew duty for bad weather.
Too bad for the crew. They are up against the manufacturer and Maritime law. Think 1700s. In times of ye olde seafaring the captains and crew could face death.
The builder and insurance company will not go easy on them.
“Italian prosecutors will investigate the captain of the superyacht belonging to Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week during an intense storm, killing the British tech tycoon and six other people, Italian media reports said on Monday...”
Billionaire defeated DOJ in court recently. IIRC His business partner was hit by a car and killed on the same day.
Nothing to see here Citizen. move along.
Here’s a link to Daily Mail article that does not require an account: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13779735/Captain-Bayesian-superyacht-faces-probe.html
I still think it was a hit job. The guy’s business partner has a strange death within the same day.
Fishy as hell.
I am like you. Not believing this is just a coincidence.
Ironically they’ll be using Bayesian statistics to solve the problem.
Really.?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/secret-service-agents-on-leave-trump-shooting/
That’s good working hypothesis.
A car driving off a bridge is prima facie evidence of negligence.
Thanks for the link.
You’re welcome!
I’ve sailed my boat (47’) all over the Gulf of Mexico, rented 52’ Beneteaus in BVI and captained other owners boats in St. Croix.
Most of the time there were guests on board. In my mind, I ALWAYS took my legal and moral responsibility to guests and crew seriously. Based on information available as of 8-26-24, it does not appear that Captain Cutfield did. Indeed, it LOOKS LIKE he was ASLEEP (literally) when the boat flipped. IF SO, that’s negligence all by itself. Game over.
Especially if the driver is intoxicated.
The medical examiner allowed the body to leave the state without an autopsy, which is unheard of in an accidental death. The undertaker removed about a cup of water from Mary Jo’s lungs, drowning victims usually have a couple quarts. She suffocated. He also took a blood sample that indicated that she was intoxicated at the time of death.
Ship captains can’t be held responsible for waterspouts... It was an accident caused by an act of nature... So charge away, any charges they lay will never hold water.
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