Judge Marc Schumacher, of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, came down hard on Royal Caribbean for a hydrogen sulfide leak aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas that killed three crew members and injured 19 others.
The Judge said, "Royal Caribbean’s actions demonstrated a gross indifference to the life and health of not only the plaintiff but other passengers onboard the Monarch of the Seas when it continued to cruise with measures that allowed poison gas exposure to its passengers."
Furthermore, Schumacher felt Royal Caribbean "failed to take reasonable measures to prevent exposure" to the poison gas.
The criticism comes after seeing photos taken during a Coast Guard investigation of the incident document the "extensive corrosion" they say they found in engine room pipes where the leak originated. The Coast Guarded concluded that "early signs… of hazardous H2S gas …were missed."
