Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer Blog

Miami Cruise Ship Crime News: Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse in Carnival Cruise Assault Case

August 18, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL— August 18, 2011 – In yet another case of horror on the high seas, a 19-year-old man admitted to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl during a vacation aboard a Carnival cruise ship in March. According to information provided by Alabama Live, Dylan Cole Bloodsworth, of Mississippi, pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse and enticement charges in connection with the cruise assault.

Reports indicated the unidentified victim was on a cruise voyage to Mexico with her friend and friend’s mom when she met Bloodsworth. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Murphy, the teenage girl was sexually assaulted when she accompanied Bloodsworth to his room on the basis that she believed he would merely be fetching his jacket.

Once in Bloodsworth’s cabin, the 19-year-old proceeded to have sex with the minor, who told investigators she did not consent to the encounter. The teen also alleged that she was hurt in the sexual attack, which occurred on the Carnival Elation cruise ship.

On August 16, Bloodsworth, who initially claimed, “I don’t think there was force or coercion involved,” stood before federal prosecutors in Alabama and entered a “blind” guilty plea to charges including sexual abuse of a child and enticement of a minor.

Furthermore, Bloodsworth was charged with sexual battery after allegedly sexually assaulting a minor, also only 13 years of age, in Mississippi. Those charges remain pending.

Miami Boat Accident Lawyer News: Charter Boat Runs Over Father, Son Near Key Largo; Serious Injuries Reported

August 11, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL— August 11, 2011 – A Delaware man and his 11-year-old son were hospitalized with severe injuries in Miami after they became involved in a violent boating accident less than ten miles south of Key Largo. According to information provided by the Key West Citizen, officials from the U.S. Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office are investigating what caused a 46-foot crewed charter boat to hit the father and son as they were swimming in the water, about to dive near Conch Reef.

Reports indicated 39-year-old Calvin Adkins chartered a boat from the Tavernier-based Florida Keys Dive Center and was about to go diving with his young son when the vessel’s propellers apparently struck them in the water around 9 a.m. According to FWC spokesman Bobby Dube, “They were both alive when they left here, but we heard that the son is not doing too well.” The charter vessel that hit them was called the Big Dipper.

Both of the boat accident victims were flown to Miami hospitals following the horrific incident. The father, who reportedly sustained serious injuries, was taken to Baptist Hospital for treatment, while the injured child was rushed to Miami Children’s Hospital. The 11-year-old, who suffered more serious injuries than his dad, reportedly underwent emergency surgery after the boat accident.

While the cause of the Florida boating accident remained unclear, investigations are underway.

Miami Boat Accident News: Child Checked Out At Hospital Following Florida Panhandle Boat Crash

August 10, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL— August 10, 2011 – Four people, including a child, were occupying a boat that crashed into the sands of a Navarre beach and flipped over on the night of August 7. According to information provided by NWF Daily News, authorities from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are expected to conduct a full probe into the Florida boat accident.

While no serious injuries were reported following a boating accident that occurred on the Intracoastal Waterway in the Florida Panhandle, not all boat crash victims are so fortunate. According to statistical data provided by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), a total of 736 boating deaths resulted from the 4,730 recreational boating accidents that were reported during the year 2009.

Reports indicated a total of four people, one of whom was a child, were aboard a 23-foot recreational vessel when it hit a patch of sand while traveling near the shore along the Intracoastal Waterway. The boat overturned on the sand and careened approximately 20 feet on impact, temporarily trapping passengers beneath it. The boat was allegedly traveling about 40 mph when it hid the sand around 11 p.m.

Upon speaking with Navarre Beach Firefighters, the adults involved in the watercraft accident said they were able to dig their way out and then pull the child, a young boy, out. That child was ultimately transported to Sacred Heart Hospital to be treated for minor injuries sustained in the Florida boating accident.

None of the other passengers aboard the crashed boat appeared to require medical attention. “It’s just amazing that nobody ended up seriously injured,” FWC’s public information officer Stan Kirkland added. Investigations into the boat wreck are underway.

Miami Recreational Boat Accident News: Boy, 14, Looses Leg in Florida Jetski Accident

August 4, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL— August 4, 2011 – Accident investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have launched a probe into a recreational boating accident that left a Pinellas County teen hospitalized with critical injuries. According to WTSP 10 News, the young accident victim, who was a passenger on the back of a WaveRunner at the time, was forced to have his leg amputated upon being airlifted to a St. Petersburg hospital.
FWC investigators said 14-year-old John Dahl appeared to be riding backwards on a jetski operated by an unidentified second party when the watercraft suddenly took off at a high rate of speed, prompting him to jump off. Upon doing so, Dahl’s leg became entrapped in the towline that was being used to pull a wakeboarder at the time. It was not clear why the jetski passenger was facing the rear of the personal watercraft (PWC) at the time.
Nearby resident Robert Sapp heard the injured boy’s screams just before his son, Casey, 16, used his own jetski in an attempt to render preliminary aid to the victim. According to Casey Sapp, “When I actually got up next to that boy’s jet ski and saw his leg, it was bad.” Investigations into the injurious jetski accident were expected to be underway.
According to statistics provided by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), jetskis were involved in approximately 22 percent of the 4,730 recreational boating accidents reported nationwide in 2009. Such accidents reportedly resulted in 736 boating deaths.

Miami Boat Accident News: Tragedy Hits Second Russian Riverboat; 9 Drowning Deaths Reported in Moscow

August 2, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL— August 2, 2011- Less than a month after an overcrowded riverboat capsized on the Volga River in Russia, resulting in the deaths of 122 passengers, tragedy struck aboard a second river cruise ship. According to information provided by the New York Times, nine fatalities were reported on July 31, following an unfortunate boat crash on the Moscow River.
Reports indicated 16 passengers were aboard the river cruise boat when it crashed into a barge along the river in southwest Moscow at approximately 1 a.m. While the cause of the deadly riverboat accident remained unclear, reports by the Russian news agency Interfax suggested the ship was carrying more passengers than it should have been at the time. Nine accident victims reportedly drowned as a result of the collision.
The unidentified ship captain, who was among those killed in the Moscow boat accident, had been charged with the violation of riverboat operating regulations on three separate occasions in the past.
Previous Moscow Times reports relayed by the Miami cruise ship injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, who maintain that cruise ship industry reform is imperative, indicated two people were arrested in connection with the first Russian river disaster. The ship Bulgaria, which was built in 1955, sank on July 10. A total of 122 passengers, 28 of whom were children, died when the ship abruptly capsized on July 10.
Svetlana Inyakina, manager of the company that rented the Bulgaria out, and Yakov Ivashov, senior inspector for the River Register’s local office, were arrested after authorities discovered that they deemed the old ship to be “seaworthy” prior to the 122-fatality ship wreck. The River Register is the government agency that is responsible for maintaining safety within the river transport industry.
Investigations into the fatal boat accident were expected to be underway.

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Miami Boat Accident News: Boynton Beach Boater Killed in Upstate New York Boat Crash

July 28, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL—July 28, 2011 – A Boynton Beach boat operator was killed in a violent boating accident in upstate New York on June 23. The boat crash, which left two addition accident victims injured, occurred on Lake Seneca in close proximity to Watkins Glen, according to information provided by the Associated Press.

While details concerning the fatal boating accident remained scarce, officials from the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office told reporters that an unspecified vessel slammed into a breakwall on the south side of Lake Seneca. Authorities identified the operator of the crashed boat as 42-year-old Boynton Beach man Michael Tangye.
That Florida boater lost his life in the unfortunate boat wreck, while two additional passengers, whom deputies identified as 24-year-old Ashley Kay and 25-year-old Joseph Hager, were rushed to Pennsylvania-based Robert Packer Hospital following the fatal boat accident. As of July 25, medical staff listed the two survivors in stable condition. Investigations into the deadly boat crash are expected to be underway.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) statistics suggested there were 668 boat accidents, resulting in 79 boating deaths and 389 injuries, reported during the year 2010. Furthermore, Florida has more boating accidents than any other state in the nation.

Miami Cruise Ship Accident News: Coast Guard Suspends Search For Missing Passenger Aboard Alaska Cruise

July 27, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL—July 27, 2011 – Authorities from the U.S. Coast Guard on July 23, 2011 called off the search for a California man who was reported missing from a cruise ship less than one day before. According to information provided by 10News, Fallbrook resident Blake Kepley, 20, was traveling in Alaska aboard the Holland America cruise vessel Oosterdam when he went missing on June 22, 2011.

Reports indicated Kepley was last seen aboard the cruise ship Oosterdam, a 7-day Alaskan cruise voyage, at some point between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. on June 22. Kepley’s family members reported him missing at approximately 2:30 p.m., when he failed to meet up with them before disembarking from the ship at a port in Ketchikan. Holland America then reported the missing persons case to Coast Guard officials. Cruise line representatives appeared to believe Kepley may have fallen overboard.

Although the Coast Guard search lasted less than 24 hours, ending at about 3:45 p.m. on June 23, USCG personnel in helicopters and other boats covered a span of nearly 400 miles in an attempt to find the missing cruise ship passenger. The cruise vacation came to an end on June 24.

According to an unidentified passenger who sent 10News an e-mail regarding the missing persons case, “Two passengers, twin sisters, told me they were walking on deck Thursday at 8:15 and saw Blake by the railing. He was kneeling and had his hands in a prayer position, crying. A few minutes later they observed him being carried or dragged off the deck by a man and another young man. They believed that the man was his dad and a brother or cousin.”

Petty Officer 1st Class Lindsey Kirby, Sector Juneau Operations unit controller maintained, “While we have suspended active searching, we encourage anyone who sees anything while transiting though the area to call the Coast Guard… Suspending a case is one of the hardest decisions that we as search and rescuers have to make.”

Recreational boating accident statistics provided by the Coast Guard indicated there were 431 falls overboard, resulting in a total of 188 deaths and 257 injuries, in 2008.

Also, drowning was the leading cause of death related to such boating accidents. During the year 2008, recreational boating accidents resulted in at least 510 drowning deaths.

Miami Cruise Ship Injury News: Pittsburgh Man Molested Child Aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Vessel

July 26, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL—July 26, 2011 – Pittsburgh prosecutors offered a plea agreement on July 20, 2011 to a 72-year-old man who boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise ship with the intention of engaging in illicit sexual activity with children in 2009. According to information provided by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, prosecutors evidently offered the plea deal upon considering the defendant’s age and psychological background, as well as the duration of the said molestation.

Associated Press reports indicated surveillance cameras aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Liberty of the Seas caught ex-chemical engineer Sherwood Stevenson inappropriately touching a 6-year-old boy in a hot tub, only a few days into the Dec. 2009 cruise voyage. Although the young boy managed to escape after a few minutes, Stevenson momentarily fondled another child aboard the ship.

Had it not have been for Stevenson’s plea agreement, pleading guilty to <interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct would have likely landed him in prison for a decade. Stevenson, who was booked into Allegheny County Jail, is expected to spend approximately four years in prison in connection with the cruise ship sexual assault case.

Reports noted that Stevenson is prescribed psychiatric drugs for an unspecified mental illness, which prosecutors seemed to take into account prior to offering him a plea bargain in the child-sex case. Stevenson is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on Nov. 22.

According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics posted on the website for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 15 percent of sexual assault and rape victims have yet to even reach the age of 12. Overall, 44 percent of victims are under the age of 18, with 29 percent of the total accounting for individuals between the ages of 12 and 17.

Miami Boating Accident News: Boston Harbor Speedboat Accident Kills 1 Passenger, Seriously Injures Another

July 20, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL— July 20, 2011 – A violent boating accident occurred in Boston Harbor on the evening of July 16, 2011, claiming the life of one passenger and leaving another seriously injured. According to information provided by the Associated Press, Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and officials from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) appear to be investigating what might have caused the speedboat involved in the fatal boat accident to abruptly overturn and capsize.

MSP spokesperson David Procopio told reporters that a 30-foot speedboat was navigating Boston Harbor, in close proximity to Boston Light, when the vessel apparently overturned and broke apart at approximately 6:15 p.m. Two unidentified passengers were apparently thrown from the speedboat when it capsized.

Reports indicated one of the accident victims suffered a head injury, while the other sustained a chest wound. One of the boat passengers succumbed to his/her traumatic injuries at the accident site. Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel apparently airlifted the second injured passenger to an unspecified hospital in Boston following the boat capsizing.

According to statistics provided by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida leads the U.S. in boating accidents. During the year 2010, 668 boat accidents were reported. Those incidents resulted in 79 boating deaths and left 389 victims suffering from various injuries.

Miami Cruise Crime News: Los Angeles Man Admits to Killing Wife Aboard Carnival Cruise Ship

July 19, 2011 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

MIAMI, FL—July 19, 2011 – A Los Angeles man who confessed to beating his wife to death during a cruise ship vacation two years ago faces life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine for the horrific offence. According to information provided by NBC San Diego, Robert McGill, of Winnetka, California, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges on July 14, 2011.

The body of Shirley McGill, 55, was discovered in the couple’s cruise cabin in July 2009, toward the end of a Carnival Cruise voyage to Cabo San Lucas. Robert, who had been employed by the Los Angeles County Office of Education for more than three decades, was arrested aboard Carnival Cruise Lines’ ship Elation shortly after.
Shirley was supposed to be celebrating the fact that she had just retired from her job with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when she was brutally murdered aboard the cruise vessel. Upon entering a guilty plea during a recent court hearing, Robert admitted that his ruthful acts were both “deliberate” and “intentional.” He is scheduled for sentencing on charges of second-degree murder on November 8.

According to the Miami cruise ship injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, more cruise ship industry reform is needed in order to protect travelers and employees from preventable injuries, assaults, rapes, and in extreme cases such as the one above, murder.