Costa Offers Uninjured Cruise Passengers $14K To Cover Lost Baggage, Psychological Trauma

What amount of money could make up for the time the giant cruise ship you were on steered too close to shore and hit rocks, triggering a scary evacuation of you and your fellow passengers, the loss of your belongings and the trauma over the fact that others on the boat were killed? Costa cruise lines thinks about $14,460 is the right number.

The Associated Press says the cruise line, a unit of Carnival, is offering that amount to compensate the uninjured passengers on the Costa Concordia, which ran aground and sank off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13, to cover any lost baggage and psychological trauma. They’ll also be reimbursed for travel expenses and medical expenses resulting from the experience.

Costa came to the agreement after discussions with Italian consumer groups who say they represented 3,206 of the cruise ship passengers who were not harmed when the captain took an apparently “touristic navigation” too close to shore and hit rocks.

If passengers aren’t satisfied with the money, they are free to pursue legal action. Another consumer group is expected to launch a class-action lawsuit against Costa and Carnival, saying they expect to get a bigger payload of $164,000 to $1.3 million per passenger.

There are hundreds of crew from the ship and about 100 passengers who were injured who aren’t covered in the deal, as well as the families of those who lost a loved one.

The captain of the ship is currently under house arrest after having been accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all passengers were evacuated. Some passengers have said the evacuation was an unorganized, panicky affair, with unprepared crew members and many lifeboats failing to work or be lowered due to the ship’s listing on one side.

Costa offers $14,460 per person for ruined cruise [Associated Press]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.