One survivor of the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship expressed his insult at being offered a 30 per cent discount on a future cruise by Costa Cruises, the firm responsible for the ship, according to personal injury solicitor experts.
The luxury cruise liner ran aground on the rocky cost of Giglio, an island off the coast of Tuscany, with Captain Francisco Schettino abandoning ship without making sure those still on board were safe. A retired accountant from Southampton that survived the wreck, Brian Page, told personal injury claims experts writing for the the Telegraph newspaper, that he was insulted by the company’s ‘ridiculous’ offer, and asserted that the disappointment he had for their lack of acceptance of responsibility he feels leaves him no choice but to bring legal action against the firm in the form of a personal injury compensation claim.
However, the Costa Cruises website has denied the allegations of Mr Page, stating expressly that the firm has never made any future cruise discount offer to Costa Concordia passengers. Costa Cruises, which is owned by Carnival Group, a US-based company, did confirm that every passenger have been contacted in order to ensure that they returned home safely and have also been offered a complete refund for the cost of their cruise.
The captain of the ship has been blamed for the crash by his employers, and has begun a civil claim against Schettino in Italy. 12 lives were lost in the disaster at sea. An Italian consumer association and two law firms based in the US are seeking compensation on behalf of the Costa Concordia’s passengers in the case.