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Update 2/14/2012: The law firm of Proner & Proner is highly experienced in filing both class-action and individual claims, having recovered millions of dollars on behalf of our clients in both types of litigation. After evaluating the legal issues surrounding a class action in this particular case, we feel that filing a class-action on behalf of victims of the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident is not in their best interests at this point. Instead, we have filed individual actions collectively out of the belief that approaching this case as a mass tort rather than a class action will result in the greatest likelihood of our clients receiving the most significant economic recovery possible.

Moment by moment, we are analyzing all of the variables that impact on this case, and as of now, we remain unconvinced that bringing a class action is the proper strategy to take on behalf of the Costa Concordia victims we are representing from all over the world. Our primary goal is to see that those passengers who have suffered so greatly as a result of this needless tragedy are able to obtain the full measure of damages to which they are entitled.

If you or someone you love was on board the Costa Concordia when the shipwreck occurred, it is imperative that you contact Proner & Proner immediately to ensure that your rights are protected.

Archived Article: 1/25/2012

Mitchell Proner, who will be filing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of victims of the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident, appeared on Calgary radio to discuss the claim.  On The Eyeopener, he explained why the captain of the ship is not exclusively to blame for the accident, contrary to claims made by the owners and operators of the Costa Concordia.

Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines, along with the ship's operator, Costa Cruise Lines, has maintained that Captain Francesco Schettino was solely responsible for the catastrophe that resulted in at least sixteen deaths, hundreds of injuries, and thousands of traumatized victims among the more than 4,200 passengers aboard the ship.  In his interview with The Eyeopener, Proner dismissed this claim as mere "legal strategy" on the part of the cruise line companies.

Proner estimates the worth of the ship at about $590 million in US currency.  He described the idea that so valuable a ship wouldn't equipped with the technology to "tell where rocks are" and "alert the coast guard in a timely fashion" as "absurd."

Victims from around the world have contacted Proner, who emphasized that, although the class-action claim will be filed in Florida (the home state of Carnival Cruise Lines), the rights of all passengers will be protected, not simply the American passengers.

As of January 25, 2012, the cruise line companies have offered passengers a refund of their fare and 30 percent off future cruises.  Proner called this offer "absurd and insulting."

"That's not fair compensation," he asserted, reiterating his primary goal of obtaining the full measure of compensation to which all of the accident victims are entitled.

The audio of the interview can be found on the CBC program's website.