The family of the toddler who died after falling 11 stories on a Royal Caribbean ship has sued the cruise line, saying it was the company’s fault.
Chloe Weigand, 18 months, fell from an open window on the ship 11 stories above ground. At the time, she was in the care of her grandfather, Salvatore Anello, who has since been charged with negligent homicide by authorities in Puerto Rico, where the ship was docked when the incident took place in July.
Anello has said previously that he thought there was a glass panel in the window and that there were no warning signs posted.
Alan Wiegand and Kimberly Schultz Wiegand, of South Bend, Indiana, filed the suit this week.
“This is not some freak accident,” the Wiegand’s’ lawyer, Michael Winkleman, told NBC News. “This is something that was a preventable accident. These windows are entirely not compliant with the standard for windows on cruise ships,” he said.
The family was playing in a children’s water park on the ship’s 11th deck. When Kimberly Weigand had to attend to another matter, Anello was watching Chloe. She wanted to be lifted up to the window so that she could bang on the glass as she frequently did at her brother’s hockey games, the suit says.
Anello did not realize there were panes that could be opened, and the toddler fell 150 feet onto the pier.
“Carnival and [Norwegian Cruise Line] and even newer Royal Caribbean cruise ships have windows that are wholly compliant with these window fall prevention codes,” Winkleman said. The ship from which Chloe fell to her death did not though, he claimed.
Royal Caribbean told NBC News, “We have not been served with a lawsuit related to this matter and have no further comment.”
The Wiegand’s are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
