Girl falls over railing on cruise ship ....what kind of world do we live in?

[MIGrandma]

On one of the pages a mother put a picture of her and her 8 year old you will se she had to stand on something. I have no idea what page number it was.

Yes, I saw that picture too. Such a tragic thing to have happened.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Sad story. It seems unlikely that the cruise line is to blame. Still, I feel bad for the parents grieving the loss of their child, and anyone on the ship who witnessed it.

 

[Hikergirl]

So sad, they've already retained a lawsuits-are-us-firm that appears to specialize in getting settlements from Carnival for irresponsibly behaving passengers.

OKay I guess that for you is on the same level of a child being killed.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Killed???
Really???
A child was not 'killed'.
A child was behaving in an unsafe manner and, tragically, was involved in an accident, and died from their injuries.

Any suggestion that a child was pushed over the railing is, IMHO, total libelous slander.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the railing of these ships.
I would venture to say that they are the same, or even more safe, than railings anywhere else.
I am the one who posted the pic of the railings on this particular ship.

Kids, being left unsupervised, on vacations, such as cruises, and 'gasp!!!" Disney, often do not follow rules and engage in unsafe activities.
Cruises are notorious for this... So much so that many avid cruisers simply will NOT cruise during Summer, Holidays, etc... when the number of kids onboard are at a maximum.

Recent situation on another cruise line, I think it was two young teen (or pre-teen) boys, actually jumping from the railing of the second level lounge chair area above the covered pool, into the pool. Actually purposefully jumping.

 

[Colleen27]

The article says the railing was about 40". That's too low for most 8yos to need to go up on their toes to see over and too high to accidentally fall over if standing on the ground, even on tippy toes. This is a terrible tragedy and my heart breaks for the family, but accidents happen when kids start climbing in places they shouldn't.

 

[Hikergirl]

Relax there red flags I didn't say murdered.
The accident killed her.

 

[wonder whisper]

OKay I guess that for you is on the same level of a child being killed.

I'll let the response to your comment from Wishing On A Star respond to this, since it beautifully encapsulates the points I could make, but don't need to.

 

[cruiser21]

We live in the same world as people did thousands of years of ago. Accidents happen. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for it. Two weeks ago I fell jogging and broke my foot. It happened in a blink of an eye I don't even know how I fell.

What happened to this girl is tragic, horrible, sad, but it's not because the world is any different. The only thing different is social media. You can read about every horrible thing seconds after it happened or as it's happening.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

We live in the same world as people did thousands of years of ago. Accidents happen. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for it. Two weeks ago I fell jogging and broke my foot. It happened in a blink of an eye I don't even know how I fell.

What happened to this girl is tragic, horrible, sad, but it's not because the world is any different. The only thing different is social media. You can read about every horrible thing seconds after it happened or as it's happening.

I agree.

This case almost reminds me of the poor kid who was killed by the gator at Disney. Could the parents have prevented it? Probably. Is Carnival at fault? No. Did they ever think it would happen to them? No. Is anyone really to “blame”? In my opinion, no.

 

[Klayfish]

So sad, they've already retained a lawsuits-are-us-firm that appears to specialize in getting settlements from Carnival for irresponsibly behaving passengers.

It's sort of semantics, but I'd bet you a dozen donuts that the attorney (and at least a dozen others) reached out to the family...not the family reached out to them. These law firms have people who do nothing but look for tragedies and accidents and swoop in as fast as they can...at times they've even been known to show up in the ER.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'll let the response to your comment from Wishing On A Star respond to this, since it beautifully encapsulates the points I could make, but don't need to.

And I will repeat myself, I guess you see that just as sad as a child killed (in an accident, as if that wasn't obvious).

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Such a terrible accident. I cannot begin to imagine the pain these parents are feeling.

We recently took our kids, ages 9 and 2, on what was their first-ever cruise. Our single biggest fear leading up to the cruise was the railings. (Second biggest fear was a hand injury from the stateroom door slamming shut from a gust of wind if one of us opened the balcony door at the same time.). We made it very clear to the 9yo the dangers of horseplay when near the railings (or anywhere on the ship for that matter other than the kids club). She knew her heels were to remain on the floor at all times when standing near a railing.

We also agreed that the 2yo (an avid and lightning-fast climber) would not be on our balcony. At all. No good reason for it. We also agreed that, when in the public areas of the ship, we would not hold him in our arms if we are standing anywhere near a railing. Lifting him up to a higher level only increased the chances of a fall if he decided to try to squirm out of our arms.

Off topic, well, not really. On one of our sea days I saw young parents taking pictures near an outside railing with their baby (maybe 6-9 months old). Six decks down was nothing but the Atlantic Ocean. The father was standing, holding the baby with his back to the railing as Mom was snapping pics. He sort of sat the baby's butt on the railing while holding him. While it made for a great photo, I couldn't help but be "that person." I politely told him how fearful I was that a terrible accident could happen if the baby decided to squirm around when he wasn't expecting it. I decided if they were offended by me sharing my opinion then so be it. I can live with that. The advice was accepted with thanks and appreciation, or at least that's what they led me to believe. We ended up chatting for a few more minutes after that. It turns out this was their first cruise. In the days that followed, we would say hi to each other in passing.

Disclaimer: If anyone ever sees me doing something that could result in my child getting seriously injured or dying, please feel free to share your thoughts!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

.

Disclaimer: If anyone ever sees me doing something that could result in my child getting seriously injured or dying, please feel free to share your thoughts!

You would think that right. Now the law of the land is shut your mouth and if my child is hurt or injured, so be it.

We have a private street and boys and motorcycles. I mean boys, one of them is 11. He rides his motorcycle down the street, eye closed, no hands, down the main street which is super busy.

Did we talk to parents, yes? Did we show them pics, yes. All that earned us is to be bullied by the kids. Yes, I was being bullied by children in my neighborhood. Can't call police since it is private subdivision.

I had to convince my dh that you have to let it go. What else can you do? We are counting the days till the house sells.

 

[Micca]

No way in hell she was just standing on her tippy-toes. She had to be deliberately climbing the balcony rail in order to fall over.

I agree. I've been on a few cruise ships and I've peered over railings and thought a person would really have to try to fall over a railing to another deck or the water. It's a horrible situation but there's likely no fault to be found other than an un-supervised child on a cruise ship.

 

[Hikergirl]

You would think that right. Now the law of the land is shut your mouth and if my child is hurt or injured, so be it.

We have a private street and boys and motorcycles. I mean boys, one of them is 11. He rides his motorcycle down the street, eye closed, no hands, down the main street which is super busy.

Did we talk yo parents, yes? Did we show them pics, yes. All that earned us is to be bullied by the kids. Yes, I was being bullied by children in my neighborhood. Can't call police since it is private subdivision.

I had to convince my dh that you have to let it go. What else can you do? We are counting the days till the house sells.

So anything goes there? Do you have security that you go through and if something is bad enough they notify police?

I have neighbors like that too, but I don't live in a private sub-division and the police have been called alot. The parents just don't care though so there isn't much we can do. They rent, so there is always hope at the beginning of each month they will be gone.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I definitely wish our society wasn't so lawsuit-happy. But I think the change is more than just greed. Part of the problem is that if the cruise line isn't blamed, the parents will be. Fifty or a hundred years ago, if something like this happened, nobody would have been discussing who was at fault. Everyone would just have felt sorry for the parents, because their kid fell, and they couldn't stop it in time. Now, they will blame either the cruise line or the parents because they didn't stop it before it happened.

 

[Klayfish]

So anything goes there? Do you have security that you go through and if something is bad enough they notify police?

I have neighbors like that too, but I don't live in a private sub-division and the police have been called alot. The parents just don't care though so there isn't much we can do. They rent, so there is always hope at the beginning of each month they will be gone.

I was wondering the same thing. We live in a private subdivision too. There's nothing that says the police won't come because it's a private community.

And it'd be a cold day in .... when I get bullied by an 11 year old boy.

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree. But maybe the mom isn't about suing and he's the one pushing the issue.

But if he's an uncle, the parents would either have to go with what he was pushing or not.

Even in a time of great tragedy, people need to own their choices. The uncle has no standing to sue on his own.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

So anything goes there? Do you have security that you go through and if something is bad enough they notify police?

I have neighbors like that too, but I don't live in a private sub-division and the police have been called alot. The parents just don't care though so there isn't much we can do. They rent, so there is always hope at the beginning of each month they will be gone.

Anything goes!!! It is freaking like lawlessness! Kids are driving cars, ATVs, golf carts, dirt bikes, motorcycles, kids are driving on the laps of parents.

Fireworks are legal so the neighbors were happy to shoot off fireworks for hours AT OUR HOUSE. We just paid to have it power washed and they knew it.

We asked our neighbor next door that participated in the shenanigans get the debris from our roof.

The police were CLEAR, they are staying out of it unless the people are "caught in the act".

 

[Hikergirl]

Anything goes!!! It is freaking like lawlessness! Kids are driving cars, ATVs, golf carts, dirt bikes, motorcycles, kids are driving on the laps of parents.

Fireworks are legal so the neighbors were happy to shoot off fireworks for hours AT OUR HOUSE. We just paid to have it power washed and they knew it.

We asked our neighbor next door that participated in the shenanigans get the debris from our roof.

I don't understand how being a private sub-division means the police can't come when laws are being broken.