Congratulations to the team of Debi and Jason Chalik at Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers for securing a large settlement for their clients! Debi Chalik represented the young newlywed couple after they were critically injured on an excursion in Roatan, Honduras.
In July of 2018, the couple were honeymooning as passengers on a cruise ship operated by one of the largest cruise lines in the world. The couple purchased a zip-line tour package through the ship’s shore excursion desk. The Cruise Line advertises and guarantees their excursions provide their guests priority departure times, a flexible cancellation policy, and use of “insured partners who adhere to the highest safety standards in the industry.”
It was raining on the day of the couple’s zip-line excursion. The bride was the first of the two to ride on the zip-line. She had not yet reached the wooden platform when her husband suddenly crashed head-on into her at a high rate of speed. Tragically, the young groom did not survive and passed away the day of the collision. His bride was rushed to a local hospital before being airlifted to a Florida hospital. The bride suffered multiple rib fractures, a fractured spleen, fluid and bruising to her left lung, a bruised and lacerated kidney, and multiple traverse fractures. The bride spent a month in a Florida hospital before returning home to Israel. She is still recovering from her injuries.
The couple chose the zip-line excursion unaware the Cruise Line continued to do business with and use an operator with multiple reported safety violations. Mrs. Chalik would uncover ten passenger complaints to the Cruise Line regarding the poor conditions of the tour. The complaints regarding the operator dated back to 2014, noting the zip-line was defective, had no adequate braking system, and there was no way for the guides to communicate. In 2015, the Cruise Line settled a similar lawsuit with claims and injuries like those suffered by the newlyweds. Shockingly, the Cruise Line continued to book passengers on the zip-line tour excursions knowing of the operator’s negligence. The Cruise Line chose financial gain over the safety of their passengers.
The Cruise Line agreed to settle the newlyweds’ case in the spring of 2019. Their only defense, lack of jurisdiction.
Debi and Jason are passionate about representing clients who are injured while cruises, or while participating in recreational activities. In 2014, they were instrumental in lobbying for regulation of the parasailing industry, and thanks to their hard work, the White-Miskell Act was passed.
If your personal injury firm has clients that are injured while on a cruise, a cruise excursion, or while participating in recreational activities in the state of Florida, call Jason or Debi to help you get the best results for your clients.
Debi Chalik is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky and Federal Court. She is a member of the American Bar Association, American Justice Association, Florida Justice Association, Federal bar Association-Southern District of Florida, and a life member of the Million Dollar Advocate Forum.
Advocate Capital, Inc is proud to partner and support personal injury law firms like Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers in their relentless fight to hold major Cruise Lines and large hotels accountable and protect the rights of those injured due to the negligence of others.
Executive Client Manager II
