Coaming posed only a slight risk Appeal Court
A Court of Appeal in New South Wales, Australia, has overturned a judgment in which a plaintiff was awarded almost US$385 000 after she tripped on a coaming (raised edging to keep out water) at an entrance door of a cruise vessel and injured herself.
The Business Times reports the court decided that the slight risk that a passenger may not see a coaming at an entrance door did not mean that a reasonable cruise operator would have to frequently broadcast warnings or provide more visual signage. A dissenting judge did not disagree that the plaintiff ought to have taken reasonable care for her safety, but stressed that there are circumstances when a degree of inadvertence or carelessness may have to be reasonably foreseen and taken into account in defining the extent of a defendant\'s duty of care. Full report tin The Business Times