The family of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand is suing Royal Caribbean over the little girl’s death in Puerto Rico. They say the cruise line should have safer windows that would have prevented the child from falling 11 floors to the pier below, The Indy Star reported.
Kim Wiegand and Alan Wiegand, the girl’s parents, and Salvatore “Sam" Anello, her grandfather, appeared with their attorney Wednesday morning to announce the lawsuit, the newspaper reported.
They did not say what financial damages they are trying to get from the cruise line but said the suit was filed to make sure Royal Caribbean and other companies have signs posted that the family said would prevent other tragedies, according to the Star.
Chloe Wiegand fell from an open window when Anello was watching her, NBC News reported.
He has been charged with negligent homicide, but said he thought there was glass in the windowpane. Anello said if there had been a warning sign he would not have been near it, according to NBC News.
The window had been slid open and Anello claimed he couldn’t tell that it wasn’t shut. When he lifted Chloe up to bang on the glass, like she frequently did at her brother’s hockey games, he held her as she leaned forward over a wooden railing about 18 inches from the window. She slipped from Anello’s grip and fell to the pier, NBC News reported.
Anello also said he is colorblind, and that may have attributed to his not realizing that the glass window was open, according to an interview he did with CBS News last month.
Anello said people have written to him, saying that the windows are tinted, but he said he couldn’t see the coloring on the window, possibly due to the condition, CBS News reported.
He said he thought his granddaughter fell to the floor when she slipped, but realized that she had fallen from the ship, CBS News reported.
If convicted of negligent homicide, Anello faces up to three years in prison. His next court date is scheduled for next week, the Indy Star reported.
Royal Caribbean has not commented on the lawsuit announced Wednesday, the newspaper reported.
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