What Happened to Chloe Wiegand?

In the heart-wrenching tale of Chloe Wiegand, a bright-eyed toddler whose innocence was shattered in a moment of tragedy, the courtroom stands as the battleground for justice and accountability.

As her parents wage a legal war against the cruise line, the echoes of a fateful day reverberate through the halls of justice, posing questions of negligence and foresight. With the weight of a precious life lost, the court’s verdict hangs in suspense, a beacon of hope for answers amidst the turmoil of grief and legal debate.

What Happened to Chloe Wiegand?

Chloe Wiegand, age eighteen months, fell from an open observation deck on the eleventh story of a cruise ship while she was there. The little girl, tragically died to be pulled down in the ground by the force of gravity when she fell through an open window on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in July 2019.

Their couple Alan Weigand and Kimberly Schultz-Weigand on the basis of negligence filed a case in court against the cruise line.

Nevertheless, Judge Gonzalo Curio from Florida determined that Mr. Salvatore “Sam” Anello, who was the grandparent who was holding Chloe when she fell out, was responsible for the situation.

Relying on the 11th Circuit, Wiegand’s attorney defended that a competent cruise line should have followed the regulations on preventing falls, particularly addressing the industry guidelines on dealing with falls.

They said the cruise operator overlooked the need to mark open windows and to use the provided safety equipment as per the recommendation.

Legal Debate over Responsibility

A defense lawyer of Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, put forward the notion that the event was not foreseeable and reminded the jury of safety precautions previously established when no other similar incidents were reported.

Anello admitted he did naively think the window was closed as he lifted Chloe up to the glass to bang on it at the hockey games like she loved to do with her older brother.

Anello was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and he was charged under the plea agreement of negligent homicide which leads to a sentence of probation.

The court affirmed that since the act of tossing Chloe over the railing was sufficiently dangerous for the safety of the passengers and therefore Royal Caribbean stood excluded from their responsibility of warning the passengers.

Royal Caribbean and Anello’s representatives were the targets of questioning by the judge while the necessity of the cruise line foreseeing Anello’s behaviors and the efficiency of its security measures were brought under the spotlight.

They, with regard to a renouncement of the stated cruise ships’ fall danger, assigned a specific case of Chloe’s death and cruise line responsibility.

Testimony by the previous Royal Caribbean head of security about adults holding on to young kids at the railings had worried an audience. But a cruise line believed that the concept of kids being extended onto the windowsill has not been on anyone’s mind when describing the danger of the railings.

In the end, it appeared that the panel had failed to reveal the timeframe, in which they would make their ruling. The accident is discussed as a golden key that opens a system of questions such as the responsibility of the company and its duty of care. Furthermore, it allows them to look at the possible set of solutions and come to a balanced conclusion.