Royal Caribbean is looking to have a lawsuit dismissed after providing video evidence that the death of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand, who fell from a cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean said in a motion to dismiss that the actions of Chloe’s grandfather,Sam Anello, are “the sole reason why Chloe is no longer with her parents.”
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. claims a video shows the baby’s grandfather knew a tinted glass window was open when she died in July in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“When he arrives at the open window, and while Chloe is on the floor, Mr. Anello leans his upper-torso over the wooden railing and out of the window frame for approximately eight seconds,” reads the motion to dismiss, which was filed on January 8. “Because Mr. Anello had himself leaned out the window, he was well aware that the window was open.”
Anello then picked Chloe up and lifted her “over the wooden rail towards the open window,” it says.
Royal Caribbean says Anello stayed in front of the open window and exposed Chloe to it “for approximately 34 seconds at which time she unfortunately fell.”
“The only reasonable conclusion from the video is that Mr. Anello knew the window was open before picking up Chloe. He nonetheless lifted the child over the wooden rail and the open window for a considerable period, recklessly endangering her life. There was no ‘hidden danger’ — Mr. Anello knew the window was open.”
The grandfather and his family believe Royal Caribbean is negligent for keeping the window open in the first place.
The judge is likely to announce a decision on March 11.
Matt Hochberg
Matt loves to cruise, and started Cruise.Blog as a place to share different cruise experiences, advice, and what to know before going on a cruise.
He lives in Florida with his wife and two daughters, where he can be found on any given day trying to convince his wife they "need" to book another cruise.
