LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB and WXIN) -- The family of a northern Indiana girl who died after falling from a cruise ship this year has sued Royal Caribbean.
Kim and Alan Wiegand, the parents of Chloe Wiegand, said at a news conference in South Bend on Wednesday that they hope the lawsuit leads to safety changes, including additional signage, to prevent similar incidents.
On the July cruise, Chloe’s grandfather, Salvatore "Sam" Anello, was holding her so she could bang on the window as she does at her brother’s hockey games. Anello said he did not realize the window in front of him was open. The girl, who would have turned 2 this week, slipped from his grasp and fell 11 stories to her death.
Authorities in Puerto Rico charged Anello with negligent homicide in October, but the girl’s parents do not support the charges.
“We should be celebrating with presents and a birthday cake, but instead we are talking about her death,” Kim Wiegand said at the news conference. “No other family should have to grieve the kind of loss we have to grieve. It is 10 times worse than you can imagine.”
Kim Wiegand said she believes Royal Caribbean “played a major role” in Chloe’s death, according to WXIN.
“There is no reason for this ship to have walls of glass surrounding the 11th floor with portions that open,” she said. “If that condition did not exist, Chloe would still be here. We believe that filing a lawsuit against the cruise line sends the message to them that they were wrong.”
The mother said that the family filed the lawsuit after looking at surveillance video of the incident. She said the family does not plan to share the video publicly because it does not want the last seconds of Chloe’s life to become scrutinized on the internet and to prevent Chloe’s brother from seeing it.
The lawsuit does not specify damages.
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