Shame on the parliaments of all of the countries and of the EC which have adopted the Athens Convention. The Convention imposes across the board damage caps for claims brought by passengers against cruise lines. What does the passenger get in return? Nothing. That is why the Athens Convention really should be called the Cruise Line Relief Act.
Damage caps serve only to ensure that the claims will be settled if at all for amounts well under the cap. Why would the cruise line subject to the cap offer in settlement anything even close to the cap if the worse they can do at a trial is to be liable for the damages of the cap? They would rather settle for peanuts or go to the trial or final hearing because there is no risk of any significant loss and any loss above the cap.
That means that: (1) the cruise line does not have to take full responsibility for their actions and provide compensation for the full extent of the losses and harms to the passenger; (2) significant claims either for economic losses (medical expenses and/or lost wages in the past and in the future) and for non economic losses (pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of ability to enjoy life, scarring, disfigurement, and disability) go uncompensated.
What is the result? The result is that the passenger—not the cruise line– has to absorb the losses. That also means that you and I pay for it. If the injured passenger receives insufficient compensation for an injury where for example they are unable to work and need public assistance or need medical care whether the public assistance is Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability or even food stamps, or if they go to the emergency room of your local public hospital instead of to a doctor, you and I as taxpayers are paying for the losses, not the cruise lines. That does not make sense.
The result also is that the cruise line is not made to take full responsibility for causing—if it did—the non economic losses include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of ability to enjoy life, scarring, disfigurement, and disability. In many injuries these can be permanent. If you do not have chronic pain, ask someone who does. Ask them how chronic pain affects their every waking minute, their sleep, their activities of daily living, relationships, ability to enjoy being in this world, daily happiness, and ability to be themselves. They will tell you all about it.
The Athens Convention is the Cruise Line Relief Act. Shame on all of the parliaments and the EC which have shown more loyalty to the lobbyists and executives of the cruise lines than to their own people. How many expensive dinners, free cruises, promises, or worse bought this loyalty? We need to demand that our representatives serve our needs, not the needs of some executives or lobbyists. Demand that your parliament or government never adopt– or repeal if it is in effect– the Athens Convention.
