Ronai & Ronai, LLP, Counsel for the family of deceased Hungarian musician Szandor Fehrer & Hungarian survivors of the Costa Concordia disaster, issue statement on Captain Schettino's recent apology
The statement is as follows:
The public apology of Captain Schettino while indicating that he is taking a sliver of responsibility for the tragedy, fails to demonstrate any genuine remorse for what occurred. Indeed, he admitted to being distracted by his cellular phone, but his apology fails to address the fact that the maneuvering of the boat so close to shore was a premeditated act, which had been done on previous occasions and with apparent permission or on direction of the company he worked for.
Holly Ostrov Ronai, Esq. stated that "Captain Schettino's apology is just a start. The cruise companies, Carnival PLC, Carnival Corporation and Costa Crociere, S.p.A., must take responsibility for this tragedy and issue an apology to the injured people, rather than trying to thwart their attempts to bring suit in this country where the companies are actually based, and limit their damages based upon the small print in a ticket that no one even reads."
Ronai & Ronai, LLP, recently filed suit in the United States on behalf of the Hungarian Concordia victims, asking for damages of 200 million dollars.
Peter Ronai, Esq. added that "the lawsuit states and our clients are maintaining that the cruise liner failed to properly train Schettino and other crew members in safely operating the ship and in safely evacuating people. Further, it seems that they also may have directed Schettino to steer the ship close to the shore or acquiesced to it. At this point it seems that these multi-billion dollar companies are attempting to use Schettino as a scapegoat."
The statement continues:
The survivors and families of the deceased want to know the truth about what happened and why, and the multiple causes of this tragedy will be uncovered during litigation. However, these cruise companies clearly must take legal and moral responsibility for this occurrence and avail themselves of the court and laws of this country where they do business, instead of trying to remove this matter to Italy where the families will clearly not get what they are entitled to.
