Households of Titanic sub’s victims may nonetheless sue regardless of legal responsibility waivers

By JackQueen

(Reuters) – Liability waivers signed by passengers on a submersible lost at sea during a dive to the Titanic wreck may not protect the ship’s owner from potential lawsuits from victims’ families, legal experts say.

The Titan submersible disappeared Sunday after about two hours of diving and was found in parts on the seabed after a “catastrophic implosion” of its hyperbaric chamber occurred on Thursday, according to the US Coast Guard.

The passengers, who paid up to $250,000 each to travel 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) below the surface, are believed to have signed a liability waiver. A CBS reporter who made the trip with OceanGate Expeditions in July 2022 reported that the waiver he signed mentioned the possibility of death three times on the first page alone.

Reuters has not been able to independently confirm the terms of OceanGate’s waivers.

OceanGate did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Waivers are not always valid, and it is not uncommon for judges to reject them where there is evidence of gross negligence or danger that has not been fully disclosed.

“If there were aspects of the design or construction of this vessel that were withheld from passengers, or the vessel was knowingly operated despite being told that it was unsuitable for this dive, that would absolutely defeat the validity of the exemption,” he said Persons Damage Attorney and Maritime Law Expert Matthew D. Shaffer, who is based in Texas.

OceanGate was able to argue that there was no gross negligence and that the exemptions apply because they detail the dangers of exploring the deepest oceans in a minivan-sized submersible.

The extent of possible negligence and how this might affect the applicability of the exemptions depends on the causes of the disaster, which are still under investigation.

“There are so many different examples of what families might still be entitled to despite the waivers, but until we know the cause, we can’t determine if the waivers apply,” said California personal injury attorney Joseph Low.

The families could not be reached on Thursday. It is possible that none of them will sue.

OceanGate is a small company based in Everett, Wash., and it’s unclear if it has the resources to pay significant damages if awarded, but families could benefit from the company’s insurance policy, if one is available has.

Families could also seek damages from outside parties who designed, helped build, or manufactured components for the Titan if they are found to have acted negligently and caused the implosion.

“DEATH AT SEA”

OceanGate could try to protect itself from damages by filing a so-called limitation of liability suit under maritime law, which allows owners of ships involved in an accident to seek federal court to limit any damages to the ship’s present value. Since the Titan was destroyed, that would be zero.

However, OceanGate would have to prove that it was unaware of any possible defects in the submersible and would bear the burden of proof, which legal experts say is difficult to fulfil.

Should OceanGate fail in such a case, the families are free to file claims of negligence or first-degree manslaughter.

Another law of the sea, the Death on the High Seas Act, allows persons who were financially dependent on a person who died in a shipwreck to claim only that portion of that person’s future income that they would otherwise have received. In these cases, the plaintiffs cannot claim compensation for pain and suffering.

What OceanGate knew about the ship’s safety and what was communicated to passengers about it were the key questions during discovery, a process where parties share information about a case.

The plaintiffs may be able to cite allegations of security flaws at OceanGate made by a former employee in a 2018 lawsuit against the company in federal court in Washington. Staff member David Lochridge said he raised “serious safety concerns” but was ignored. That case was settled on undisclosed terms, court filings show.

A group of industry leaders also wrote to OceanGate in 2018, raising serious concerns about the safety of the ship and the company’s decision not to have Titan certified by third parties such as the American Bureau of Shipping, a leading classifier for submersibles.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Amy Stevens and Daniel Wallis)