An American law firm is mounting a class-action suit against Norwegian shipowner Torstein Hagen’s Viking Ocean cruise line and all its affiliated companies. It claims the cruise line knowingly and intentionally sailed right into a severe storm off the country’s northwest coast earlier this year, putting passengers in danger. Norway’s state accident investigations board (Havarikomisjonen) hasn’t yet completed its official investigation of the cruise drama in the treacherous waters of Hustadvik in March. The Miami-based law firm Lipcon Margulies Alsina & Winkleman has nonetheless filed its class action lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of California in Los Angeles, where Swiss-based Viking Ocean Cruises has an office. The plaintiffs are listed as New Jersey residents and passengers Axel and Lauren Freudmann “on behalf of all similarly situated passengers on the Viking Sky cruiseship.” Even though the cruise line refunded all passengers’ fares, covered their expenses after the drama and offered to provide them with another cruise at a later date, that apparently wasn’t adequate compensation in the view of the US lawyers, who stand to profit themselves from the proceeds of any verdict or settlement. ‘Severe distress, pain and suffering…’ The claims alleges that cruise passengers “were subjected to severe distress both physical, psychological and emotional, endured pain and suffering along with physical and emotional injury as a result of the defendants Viking’s negligence … and/og intentional conduct.” It further alleges that Viking Cruises “sailed through notoriously perilous waters into the path of a Bomb Cyclone where, due to the defendants’ negligence, the vessel lost power leaving the vessel adrift to be battered by high seas and winds as it drifted towards dangerous reefs.” The lawsuit cites passengers as being “unable to stand in their staterooms” and “being thrown out of their beds, causing various injuries.” Passengers “fearing for their lives, held onto whatever they could find while water rushed in through numerous other areas of the vessel. Furniture was overturned and tossed throughout the vessel; broken glass littered all levels of the vessel; elevators were inoperable; waves crashed through open and/or shattered balcony doors.” The lawsuit, which features photos of the vessel and damage on board, goes on to claim that “hundreds of passengers including plaintiffs Freudmann were subjected to hours of terror, unsanitary conditions, lack of ventilation and trauma as they feared for their lives … all of which could have been easily avoided if defendants Viking simply waited to sail until after the severe wintere storm passed or rerouted the ship so that the passengers were not exposed to the dangerous weather conditions.” Noted how ‘Hurtigruten’ stayed in port The lawyers, referring to a newsinenglish.no story from March 25, further noted that two Hurtigruten ships (part of the Norwegian coastal liner service) “delayed their departure from their respective ports of call on March 22 in order to avoid sailing through the worst of the bomb cyclone the Viking Sky sailed through.” (The law firm did not notify nor seek permission from newsinenglish.no before reprinting portions of newsinenglish.no’s story in its legal claim.) They sum up their complaint by stating that Viking Cruises “breached its duty of reasonable care under the circumstances.” They go on to recite alleged injury and losses suffered by the passengers on board, including subsequent “insomnia, depression, anxiety, nightmares and dizziness.” Many passengers in the aftermath of the Viking Sky drama praised both staff on board the vessel and the rescue effort mounted by Norwegian authorities. There was no loss of life. Of the nearly 1,400 passengers and crew on board the vessel, 27 suffered injuries serious enough that they were sent to local hospitals for treatment. The lawyers are nonetheless demanding a jury trial on all claims, with Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reporting that they also want the equivalent of nearly NOK 90 million (USD 10 million) in compensation, to be shared by all those on board the ship. Jon Mørland, Oslo-based spokesman for the cruise line, told NRK that Viking had no comment on the lawsuit. newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund<doc-sep>“You really have the worst-case scenario, which is a vessel being without power, in the middle of a storm, subject to the mercy of 30-, 40-, 50-foot waves, hurricane-force winds," Michael Winkleman, one of the attorneys representing the passengers in the case, said in an interview with "Good Morning America."<doc-sep>A class action lawsuit has been filed against Viking over the March emergency onboard the Viking Sky, when the ship lost power in extremely rough seas, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of passengers by helicopter. ABC News reports that Axel and Lauren Freudmann, a New Jersey couple who were among those onboard during the incident, filed a class action lawsuit against the cruise line in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, alleging that the cruise line sailed through “notoriously perilous waters” despite severe weather warnings. The lawsuit says that forecasts head warned of severe weather as early as March 16, while the ship sailed from port in Norway on March 21, two days before it became stranded. A spokesperson for Viking tells Travel Agent that the company’s chairman, Torstein Hagen, met the vessel after it docked and promised all guests a thorough investigation and full reimbursement. Each guest received a personalized letter from the chairman, which detailed the compensation they would receive: a full refund of cruise and air fare, including shore excursions, pre-/post-extensions and onboard accounts; a future cruise voucher equivalent to all monies paid to Viking for the cruise, good for five years on any Viking ocean or river cruise; reimbursement for any other expenses that may have been incurred; and an invitation to join Hagen for the inaugural cruise of the line’s newest ocean ship in early 2021, at the company’s expense. Passengers who did not wish to use the cruise voucher could take 50 percent of the total voucher amount in cash instead. Since that letter was sent, the cruise line has refunded all cruise and air fare and is continuing to process the reimbursement of other expenses, the spokesperson said. The Viking Sky lost power March 23 while en route from Tromso to Stavanger, an area notorious for rough conditions, when it encountered severe weather that included wind gusts of up to 43 mph and waves as high as 26 feet. The ship began drifting dangerously close to the rocky coast, prompting a helicopter evacuation in dark and windy conditions that eventually included 479 passengers out of the the ship's total capacity of 930. The evacuation was halted when the ship regained some propulsion, allowing tug boats to escort it to Molde with the remaining passengers onboard, arriving on Sunday. Photos and videos of the events went viral on social media, depicting furniture sliding across the floor and falling pieces of the ceiling. At least 17 passengers were injured. Related Stories Harrowing Emergency on Viking Sky; Ship Now Docked in Norway, All Safe What Happened With Viking Sky – and Is it Safe to Cruise in Extreme Conditions? AmaMagna Welcomes First Guests on the Danube River Voyages to Antiquity Cancels 10 Cruises Over Mechanical Issue<doc-sep>Daniel and Shannon Flewelling’s 40th anniversary trip to Norway seemed picture perfect. “The first part was wonderful, but then everything turned bad,” Daniel Flewelling told us from his hospital bed. The Norwich man is still recovering from injuries and illness he believes started on Viking Sky cruise. “I was healthy when I went on the cruise, when I got off I was almost dead,” said Daniel. “You’re thinking, should we have gone on this cruise?” said his wife Shannon. A class-action lawsuit the couple joined alleges that Viking Cruises, “negligently sailed through notoriously perilous waters into the path of a Bomb Cyclone,” despite advance warnings of extremely severe wind gusts that could exceed 75 miles per hour. “We both totally flipped over, his leg got cut, he went rolling down several steps, sprained his ankle, I got contusions on my ribs,” recalled Shannon. The Flewellings said they both came down with the flu when they arrived home. Daniel said he started feeling the symptoms on the plane ride back from Norway. He’s been in four different hospitals since April 1 after suffering complications. “I can’t walk. I can hardly talk. And, I can’t take care of myself,” said Flewelling. Still on a respirator and feeding tube, Daniel was just admitted to Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford for acute care. He was in an induced coma for three weeks and paralyzed for two weeks. He’s expected to be hospitalized for several more months, before being sent to a nursing home for long-term care. “At one point I was saying my goodbyes to him because they were at their wits end where they didn’t think they could do anything more for him,” said Shannon. The couple blames the conditions on the cruise. “They had us sitting on the floor for hours and hours and hours,” said Flewelling. The couple said they were in close quarters with other passengers for 18 hours, where toilets were overflowing and open containers of food were being passed around without utensils. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles court on Wednesday also claims that passengers were subjected to “terror and fear of imminent death when the Viking Sky was adrift.” The passengers are seeking $10 million in damages from the cruise line. “I feared for my life that I was going to be drowned,” said Shannon. “We’ve been on so many cruises but this was the first time where the life vests were not in our room. It was 20 minutes, maybe a half hour before they had enough life vests to give to people.” The Viking Sky has said that, “its procedures were implemented to the highest standards.” “I think they were winging it,” stated Daniel. “Even the crew members said this is totally different than we practiced. Sometimes they seemed totally clueless,” added Shannon. A Viking Cruises spokesperson said they cannot comment on legal action, but “immediately following the Viking Sky incident, Viking’s chairman met the vessel when it docked and promised all guests a thorough investigation and full reimbursement.” Viking said in addition to reimbursing Viking Sky passengers for their trip, they also compensated guests for other expenses they may have incurred. The Flewellings said the cruise line has compensated them for their trip and even paid some of their early medical bills, but now Daniel feels forgotten. “Somebody has to recognize my wife and I, we matter. Nobody’s come and said, ‘how you doin’, are you ok,” said Daniel. “Nobody from Viking has come to look at us yet at all and that upsets me.” Still, Daniel is optimistic he’ll get his sea legs back. He’s already dreaming of his next cruise and says he’d like it to be on the Viking Cruise Line. Shannon says she is leery of cruising with the company again. Either way, Daniel hopes their next trip will end differently. “I want to walk off the ship happy and healthy,” said Daniel with a smile.<doc-sep>
Over 1,300 people were on board The Viking Sky when its engines failed March 23. Viking Cruises is facing a class-action lawsuit from passengers after a harrowing evacuation in high seas in March. A cruise ship operated by the Swiss company suffered an engine failure off the coast of Norway on March 23, leaving more than 1,300 people stranded in rough seas. One passenger posted a video to social media showing the ship, The Viking Sky, tilting back and forth, sending furniture sliding across the room. Twenty people suffered minor injuries during the ordeal, according to Viking Cruises. Norwegian rescue teams in helicopters battled severe winds that day to airlift hundreds of passengers from The Viking Sky. The vessel regained power the following morning and continued on with the remaining passengers and crew to the Norwegian port of Molde, where it docked safely. "We have already begun our internal investigation and our goal is to establish a complete and thorough understanding of what happened," Viking Cruises, which has its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles, told ABC News in a statement on March 24. "We welcome the investigations that have been launched, and will fully support them." A New Jersey couple, Axel and Lauren Freudmann, among those on board, filed a class-action lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, individually and on behalf of other passengers, claiming that the cruise line "negligently sailed through notoriously perilous waters into the path of a bomb cyclone," despite severe weather warnings. According to the lawsuit, weather forecasts warned of "an intense cyclone" as early as March 16 that would threaten the waters off of western Norway on March 23 and 24. The forecasts predicted "extremely severe wind gusts" that could exceed 75 mph per hour, the suit states, yet The Viking Sky set sail from Tromso, Norway, on March 21. "After the vessel left Tromso, Norway, the passengers were not informed of the severity of the weather system the cruise was intending on sailing into," the lawsuit states. "Passengers had no idea they were being subjected to a historic winter weather event." The ship's engines, which were "negligently maintained and/or were not adequately fit for such conditions," shut down in an area called Hustadvika, "which is known for its notoriously perilous waters dotted with jagged reefs and is considered one of the most dangerous parts of the Norwegian coastline," according to the lawsuit. The unmoored vessel was "battered and tossed as it was pushed dangerously close towards the hazardous reefs," while terrified passengers on board were "tossed about like ragdolls," the suit states. "You really have the worst-case scenario, which is a vessel being without power, in the middle of a storm, subject to the mercy of 30-, 40-, 50-foot waves, hurricane-force winds," Michael Winkleman, one of the attorneys representing the passengers in the case, told ABC News in an interview airing Thursday on "Good Morning America." The passengers are seeking $10 million in damages from Viking Cruises, according to Winkleman. The cruise line did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Thursday. The lawsuit claims the passengers were subjected to "hours of terror, unsanitary conditions, lack of ventilation and trauma" as the cruise line attempted to launch a "high-risk evacuation," airlifting more than 400 people hundreds of feet into a helicopter amid hurricane-force winds. "Passengers, fearing for their lives, held onto whatever they could find while water rushed in through numerous other areas of the vessel," the suit states. "Furniture was overturned and tossed throughout the vessel; broken glass littered all levels of the vessel; elevators were inoperable; waves crashed through open and/or shattered balcony doors." Daniel and Shannon Flewelling, a Connecticut couple who joined the class-action lawsuit, said the ordeal took a physical and emotional toll that continues to haunt them. "We were in a situation where moment to moment, we didn't know if we would make it," Shannon Flewelling told ABC News in an interview airing Thursday on "GMA." The couple said they both came down with the flu within days of arriving home. Daniel Flewelling suffered complications and has been hospitalized ever since. He is still on a respiration and feeding tube and was recently moved to a hospital for acute care and rehabilitation, his wife said. Doctors now say he could make a full recovery but it could take up to a year.