Jmccaffrey

A lot to unpack here but I'll try to take a shot*
Criminal liability-multiple news outlets are reporting that the grandfather is being investigated for criminal liability.  Winkleman is not a criminal attorney but the outcome of the criminal case could/will have implications upon a civil recovery.  He wants to get out in front of that story-line and you can bet that a strong criminal defense attorney will be hired.  
Civil liability-One aspect that is often overlooked with the "cruise line cases" is what law would apply.  Maritime law and conflict of laws can create a number of complicated questions about what jurisdiction's laws would control the case.  For civil actions a lot of times the cases end up applying Florida law.  In this case Florida (RCL HQ, where tickets are purchased from, etc) has interest and Puerto Rico (embark/disembark, locus of accident) are the two likely applicable jurisdictions.  Winkleman will want PR law to apply because there's something called joint and several liability.  This means that if any "joint tortfeasor (party responsible)" is found liable for any reason, then the full award can be recovered from any person found liable. 
Why does this matter-because grandpops was negligent, there's no doubt about it.  As everyone here said, he either failed to see something that was pretty obvious or otherwise made a really poor choice.  So what about RCL? Winkelman will argue RCL was negligent because it failed to take reasonable steps to prevent a foreseeable accident.  The argument will be that it was foreseeable that someone may not realize that the glass had been opened and it would have been easy enough to install screens/warnings or other safety measures to prevent this from happening.  As a note: nearly all hotels in the US that have windows you can open have some sort of child protection on them because there were a rash of suits in the 90s about kids banging on screens and falling out of windows.
A jury may or may not actually agree that anything that RCL did was unreasonable, or they might say "hey, they could have put a warning by the window," they could have done a little bit more, etc. etc.  We see it all the time, and the jury will almost certainly assign liability to grandpops.  However, this is where the joint and several liability kicks in, lets say the jury says grandpops is 99% liable and RCL is 1% liable.  Family can still recover the full award from RCL.  Both jurisdictions allow for awards for emotional pain and suffering from the loss of a child as well, those tend to be big numbers.  
 
*I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney, this should not be construed as legal advice or an official opinion regarding applicable laws or principals.

The grandfather had to physically lift her up to the railing .... it's not like she "happened" upon the open window .... even if the window was closed, she still would've gotten hurt falling to the deck floor ..... tragic?  Absolutely.  Royal's fault?  I think not.  Grandfather's (and any other family member) fault?  As painful as it is to admit.... yes

Your example is perfect. How many of those people had had McDonald's coffee before, but no one knew it was hot? It's a poor argument. 

Exactly, the fall occurred in the “smokers” lounge 

Or floor to ceiling glass balconies, No thanks, i prefer people be responsible and use common sense.

Read somewhere that the child liked to bang on the glass at the ice hockey, now i'm sure the glass ( think its actually acrylic ) at an ice hockey rink will be a lot stronger than that on cruiseships, so as a parent i cannot understand why anyone would let a child near any sort of glass to bang on just because they do it elsewhere. what if the glass shatters? or its not fixed securely and falls out? 
 Risk Assessments would have been carried out and control measures put in place to minimise the risk involved but the one thing you cannot factor for is human error

No windows you can fall from in the kids zone.........  

I am curious where the parents were at this time.  Did they see him take her to the windows and lift her up?  
I understand by news accounts that the parents had to be sedated, I would have to be too.  However, nothing has been said where they were when the tragedy occurred.  The only thing I have read/seen was that the father of the child took a picture of the area (yellow tape is seen) showing the windows.  
Please, don't read into this as anything more than just curiosity.  As a grandparent we take our little bug out just the 2 of us so my kids can have a break, but just thinking aloud, this was the 1st day, they were still in port, so you would think that as a family they would all be near each other.  

I For one don't see how Royal Caribbean Cruises should take the blame one of the Grandfathers was at fault he sat or was dangling his Granddaughter from an open window on the 11 Deck where they were at the time he lost his grip she Tragically Fell To Her Death? He Then Said He Didn't Realise The Window Was Open? With Her Sitting Or Being Dangled From An Open Window How Can He Not Have Realised The Window Was Open? I am a Mum and a Grandma No way would I or could I Sit Or Dangle Any Of Them From An Open Window Life Is Far Too Precious To Put Any Of Their Lives At Risk Like This.

I also noted how the attorney claims the "hidden danger" of opening windows has been fixed on newer ships.  New ships like Quantum and Oasis class have similar windows that open in places, it seems he is trying to paint a picture through falsehoods and sway public opinion.
Despite best efforts this glass is never perfectly clean.  They do their best but sea spray and years of exposure to weather makes the glass wall anything but perfectly clean.  I'd never take a picture through the glass because it is usually isn't clean enough to take good pictures through.  An open window is distinctly different from the fixed glass areas. 
Further more, when a window is slid open where the sliding glass now sits right or left of the opening is double tinted, the tinting from the fixed pane of glass and the tinting of the sliding glass.  This makes the contrast with the open section even more obvious.  
You can see this effect in the picture @coneyraven posted above.  The ship viewed through the open window is very clear, the ship viewed through the double tinted area is blurry.
It seems the accident happened port side.  Isn't that the smoking section?

POP QUIZ TIME!!!!!
Which window is Open?

In my opinion, it would be negligent to place a child on a railing even with a closed window.  Such a small child should be held firmly against the body, be seated on a chair, or be on the ground.  There is simply too much risk to injury from falling 3 or 4 feet to the deck.   As you said, common sense....

The news also mentioned this lawsuit this morning in the Philly area, they said the families attorney is exploring a suit against the cruise line but local officials are also exploring charges against the grandfather as well.

I know, I know, the bottom line is that this is truly a painful tragedy, but it bothers me that they claim they could not distinguish an opening in the "wall of windows"...
Two quick random pictures pulled up clearly showing how dark the glass is tinted on Freedom in the H2O zone, especially where the opened panes now overlap the adjacent fixed panes to the left of each opening.
I find it almost impossible to believe that anyone that was actually looking at the glass could miss the openings when we can all see them clearly across the deck in just these two photos (maybe 100 feet away?). We can count each and every opening... how do you miss them standing 1-2 feet directly in front of one? And once again, handrails are for hands, not feet or butts.
One shot is on a cloudy day and the other on a nice bright sunny day...

The attorney references a hockey rink and lifting her to the top of the boards so she could see through the glass.  This is apparently critical to his strategy since they have distributed a photo of it and he has mentioned it several times.  Yet the picture the attorney is distributing of her at a hockey rink shows her standing on the floor and leaning on the glass at the hockey rink. 

(Some news outlets have cropped the photo so you see just her upper body and hands on the glass.)
The ship also has glass starting at floor level.  She could have stayed on the floor on the ship, looked through the glass just like at the hockey rink and banged on it all she wanted to just like at the hockey rink, safely standing on her feet.  There was no need to pick her up so she could see out the window.  Why pick her up to place her on the railing so she could look outside when she could already see outside from the floor? 
It makes no sense.  The view isn't any better from the railing than it is from the floor, unless she wanted to look out the open window in which case they knew the window was open and he simply lost his grip somehow. 
There is a lot that just doesn't add up with the story.  
How is it the local police as first responders came to the conclusion that they did?  He must have said something or explained it in the anxiety of the moment that the police investigators picked up on.    
It will be interesting to see how local authorities handle this.

Very tragic , I hope the family will be able to recover and continue with their lives, I understand why they are trying to shift the blame to the cruise line.  
Based on the current information its hard for me to understand how someone will mistake an open window to be a glass wall. If today we will blame the cruise ship for heaving open windows maybe tomorrow someone will blame them for getting diabetes due to all the food which is served in the buffet ?  

It's shocking to see (on social media) how many people don't understand that the ship is not unsafe -- they only see an accident in which the child died. The Grandfather who placed the child on the railing is at fault and will have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. A tragedy for all involved. My children travel with me and are never placed on any surface where they could fall overboard. I book balconies and they are not allowed out there alone. Common sense....

The accusations against the cruise line are most likely all smoke and mirrors. The grandfather may likely face prison time
for criminal negligence. After a tragedy like this, a reasonable person would seek out a defense attorney. I would not doubt it if this attorney was
found to try to deflect blame. What other defense would they have. There were plenty of witnesses and likely a recording. It's probably the best they could come
up with to help grandpa.

It is a horrible tragedy that this child lost her life. But where was the common sense in what the grandfather did?  There is an obvious breeze from the open window. The open window was high off the ground. What in his mind made him think hanging a child out any window was acceptable?  Perhaps he should not have been entrusted with the supervision of such a small child in the 1st place. 
Royal Caribbean is at no fault here!!! 
Instead of hiring an ambulance chasing lawyer right away, you’d think planning a funeral would take priority.   

The US is very litigious by nature.  It's very common to file lawsuits with intentions of an out of court settlement.  Often it's less expensive for a company to settle rather than face prolonged legal battles that cost significant sums paid to lawyers to defend.  This attorney has stated they ALWAYS have around 100 active cases in play against Royal.  This is one firm.   How many other firms have 100 cases filed?   How many cases do they have filed against other cruise lines? It's a full time job for a firm full of lawyers. 
This attorney claims he is the reason why Royal has lifeguards on it's ships now.  
In this case the attorney has already started presenting his case in the press conference.  He pointed out that there are no signs warning that a window might be nearby.  He is also working hard to establish this occurred in a kids play area.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/royal-caribbean-cruise-ship-death-indiana-family-of-girl-attorney-speaks-today-2019-07-09/
The father captured pictures and videos of the area before leaving the ship that the attorney was offering to the media.
Attorney press conference :
 
 
 

We just saw the story on TV on ABC news. The glass near the H2O zone is tinted green as you look from the inside out and this occurred during bright daylight... how the heck do you not see that the window is open??? It’s pretty dark tint!
Their attorney stated the grandfather lifted the toddler up onto the railing so she could get right up against the glass... she liked to be up against glass (they showed a picture of her at one of her siblings hockey games pressed up against the board glass). They also stated they wanted to see the surveillance video before they decide if they will go forward with the suit against RC...
https://abcnews.go.com/US/indiana-toddler-died-cruise-ship-fall-grandpa-thought/story?id=64212610&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_twopack_image
... and here is where I whole-heartedly disagree with their attorney... standing on the hand railing pushing on the glass ??? Yes... it's very unreasonable and extremely irresponsible to say the least.
I never knew hand railings were meant for standing on... and toddlers could not possibly reach those railings without help from an adult!
Quote: 
"Why would you ever in a kids play area put windows that passengers can open?" Winkleman said. "I don't think it's unreasonable to put a child there thinking there's glass."

This is ridiculous to blame the cruise line for the grandparents negligence. I just recently went on my first RCCL and we noticed every open window immediately. Why?   Let’s see.... the windows are tinted and there is a breeze!! It can be hot has poop outside but you still feel a breeze coming through. 
The pool is a play area, not a window and not a railing. You do not ever place a child on a rail and say play. There are lounge chairs and tables.... where is it a play zone? 
I feel terrible for the family and can never image the loss of a child. Put the blame where it needs to be - the grandfather not the cruise line. 

I thought the glass are slightly tinted with a blue hue to it. 

Hundreds of lawyers probably contacted them, the ambulance chasing type.  Probably planted some seeds that may not be financially motivated in concept, except for the lawyer's motivation who will take a big cut of any settlement or award.

It pisses me off that the family and their lawyer are trying to blame Royal and save some face for the inept grandfather and his actions.  Let's face it.  Grandpop messed up and it cost him his granddaughters life.  He is not the victim.  It's that simple. I don't care that the child used to pound on hockey glass or whatever.  This is a 150 foot high cruise ship and not a hockey rink. Even if it was solid glass it is negligent to allow a child to pound on glass, especially exterior glass. I can see RCCL placing fixed glass in those spots to settle this case along with shelling out some $$$$$$$.