Quote:
Originally Posted by lewdog
I hope the Duck Boat company doesn't go under after they get sued for this act of negligence.
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The reasons that Ripley's Duck Rides of Branson will go under is because of the newness of the purchase (debt load), lack of cash flow caused by reduced ridership, and terms set by the lenders. There are PA attorneys who don't like the Duck boats who are seeking/ promoting their expertise seeking paychecks from the Branson drowning and the banning of duck boats as an industry.
The parent company of "Ride the Ducks" is the Ripley's World Records people but surely are a separate identity from the Duck boats for liability reasons.
Other duck boat claims with other operators have involved blatant misconduct. See below.
Remember that a company of this type and size should have a very large liability policy and an insurance company with deep pockets to defend itself.
I think that when the smoke clears that most claims settle for modest amounts and if any claims make it to court that Ripley Entertainment is cleared of wrongdoing in the form of wrongful death or criminal charges this denying punitive damages.
There will be attorneys (Robert J. Mongeluzzi has Andrew R. Duffy promoting the $17M settlement in the barge/ duck deaths in PA.) who will be bringing huge claims against the Ducks. I MHO they will get nowhere in the MO courts unless the Ducks failed to follow set procedures that were surely set by NHTS, coast guard and MO Highway Patrol.
The Deleware river duck boat settlement was based upon the actions of a barge pilot when he failed to avoid collision with a Duck that had entered the barge traffic lanes. I would assume the the barge owners paid most of the claim as the political got a year in jail and licence revoked.
"The driver of the tugboat, in the Delaware River incident, that was guiding the barge was charged with manslaughter after it was determined he had been distracted by his laptop and cellphone "for an extended period of time prior to the collision."
The Hot Springs drowning were mechanical as far as the cause.
"An NTSB investigation concluded that inadequate maintenance caused the vessel to sink. The boat took on water due to a loose rubber boot and began to sink."
Unless there is a smoking gun the Branson incident will just be a tragedy not a monetary windfall of tens of millions of dollars. The 1st case above was reported as a $17MM settlement for 2 wrongfull deaths and the injuries of others.