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Last Titanic Survivor Dies, Lessons to Learn from the Marquis Cooper Tragedy

By Steve Lombardi

The seminal event for water safety has to be the sinking of the Titanic. On April 14, 1912 the HMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank taking with it 1,516 passengers and crew members. One of the 706 survivors was the 9-week-old infant Millvina Dean. Ms. Millvina was the youngest passenger who survived the sinking. Almost a decade went by and at age 97 she died peacefully in a nursing home near Southampton, England.

Today the Titanic survives by way of a traveling exhibition that docks in the Science Museum of Minnesota and remains in port St. Paul from June 12, 2009 till January 3, 2010.

The artifacts that have been retrieved from the ocean floor surrounding the Titanic wreckage are owned by Premier Exhibitions, Inc.; a company traded on the NASDAQ under the sign PRXI. Premier Exhibitions, Inc. took in $10.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

While passengers on an ocean liner have no control over how the ship is run the mistakes that were made in running the Titanic are appropriate reminders to small craft operating off the shores of popular vacation destinations, lakes and the shore line of the east and west coasts. Mistakes like those made by boat owner Marquis Cooper on the Gulf Coast waters off of St. Petersburg, Florida on February 28, 2009 should be evaluated for the sake of not making the same mistakes in the future.

Assumptions and haste can kill all on board a boat that you captain.

In a later post I will cover this accident and create a list of the mistakes apparently made in the process of trying to save an inexpensive anchor. Unfortunately in this situation the owner and all but one passenger died while awaiting rescue efforts to get to them. Gerry McGill wrote a post concerning the cause of the capsizing being improper anchoring. Mistakes that lead to tragedy are useful in the lessons they can teach us about boat safety.

As this boating season begins up north the increased traffic will create a heightened need to address safety before situations may arise, that demand smart and timely decision-making. As the boat's owner and captain you are legally responsible for the lives of those onboard. Know your boat and have a plan. Be proactive rather than reactive.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on June 04, 2009 (boomark / email).