LITTLE ROCK, AR - The Costa Concordia is still halfway underwater off Italy's coast but the company is already attempting to counteract lawsuits from passengers.
"This is a money game for them," said Little Rock Attorney Tre Kitchens. "This is, 'How much does it cost to make this go away?'"
The cruise liner is asking each passenger to agree to a $14,460 dollar settlement instead of filing suit against the company.
"If someone offered you $14,000 dollars to almost die, I don't know many people who would take that," he said.
But before you scoff at the deal, take a look at the cruise line's contract.
Pages upon pages of legal jargon Kitchens says is meant to be unreadable. One sections even limits the company's liability for death or personal injury to no more than $60,000 U.S.
"We sign these contracts and then we ignore them and pray nothing happens," said Kitchens.
One week ago Sarah and Mark Plath returned to Arkansas from Italy and first hugged their parents after jumping off the quickly sinking ship.
"They said, 'Don't worry, stay in bed,'" said Sarah Plath as she remembered her last moments aboard the ship. "There was absolutely no communication on board to us after that initial contact."
The Plath's still haven't decided whether to take the deal or join in a group lawsuit already forming in Italy. It's called "group" rather than "class-action" because, again, there's a clause in the contract against those, too.
Carnival contracts say the company isn't liable for any death or injury unless the guest submits the complaint in writing within 185 days of the wreck. An online Costa Concordia contract states within ten days of the final day of the cruise making Friday the 27th day seven.
