A multimillion-dollar legal suit taken by several families affected by the Whaakari/White Island tragedy could be settled out of court as early as next month.
Twenty-two people – mainly tourists on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship – died when the volcanic island off the Bay of Plenty erupted on December 9, 2019.
The death toll also included two Kiwi tour guides, Tipene Maangi and Hayden Marshall-Inman.
Twenty-five others were badly injured in the disaster.
Earlier this month, victims were awarded $10.21 million in reparations after the sentencing of the island’s owner Whakaari Management Ltd, White Island Tours and Volcanic Air Safaris. Charges were brought against them after a WorkSafe NZ investigation.
The White Island tragedy is also at the centre of civil court cases lodged in both Florida – where Royal Caribbean has its headquarters – and Australia, from where many of those killed and injured came.
The claimants are seeking compensation from Royal Caribbean for injuries suffered – including horrific burns – in the eruption and, in the case of several who lost loved ones in the disaster, compensation for their deaths.
The claimants include six Australian individuals or families represented by Stacks Goudkamp, a Sydney-based personal injury law firm.
Stacks Goudkamp associate Julia Camus said that, given pending mediation, the cases might be settled out of court.
“My understanding is that they are in the process of arranging mediations,” Camus told the Herald.
“They are looking at mediating in the near future ... in the next month or so. There is no date set down yet, but it is in the works at the moment.”
The crux of the legal case will be the level of warnings the ship’s crew gave passengers before they signed up for the tour.
If mediation talks do not achieve an agreement between the opposing parties, the civil claims will be referred back to the Court of Florida.
Camus said there were moves in the US for the Court of Florida to have any court cases heard in Australia, where passengers boarded the Royal Caribbean ship.
“But my understanding is that in the meantime, while that whole issue is being determined, Royal Caribbean have agreed to engage in mediation to try and resolve the claims.
“That is where the matters are up to.”
The six parties represented by Stacks Goudkamp are a mix of those who were badly injured and family members of some of those who died.
Camus believed her clients had been following the recent sentencings in New Zealand, in which Whakaari Management was fined $1.05m and ordered to pay $4.88m in reparations to those affected.
White Island Tours was ordered to contribute $5m in reparations and fined a further $517,000.
Judge Evangelos Thomas said during sentencing that he adopted “an individual general sum of $250,000″ in coming to the amount of the orders made.
However, the amount paid out would change on a case-by-case basis, he said.
“I make certain adjustments to recognise those who died leaving behind dependent children, other families whose children suffered serious emotional distress, families who lost more than one loved one, those survivors who also lost family members, and the few who were fortunate enough to escape without any serious injury.”
Camus said of the recent reparation orders: “No amount of money can ever really and truly compensate these victims.
“No matter what you do ... it doesn’t ... bring them back to the health they had before, the way that things were before this happened.”
Survivors endured a range of severe, life-threatening, burns and respiratory issues.
Psychological pain also continued for those who survived or who lost loved ones.
“The ones that were physically injured are still having ongoing treatment and still being affected by it,” Camus said.
“And the ones that are mentally injured are definitely still having treatment and still being impacted by the events that unfolded.”
Royal Caribbean did not respond to a Herald request for comment.
Previously, the company said it would “not comment on pending litigation”.
That included what support had been offered and provided to passengers injured in the tragedy or family members of those who lost their lives, and what steps had been taken to warn its passengers about the potential risks on the island.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the tragedy, respected Australasian volcanologist Ray Cas, an emeritus professor in the School of Geosciences at Melbourne’s Monash University, told the Herald he believed tourists should never have been allowed on the island.
His view was based on how volatile the island was, and – aside from a shipping container about 800m from the crater – the lack of protection for visitors.
“You land on the concrete landing and your first steps are into the crater. And then you walk right into that amphitheatre-like cauldron to the back of the crater, where the active crater lake is located,” Cas said.
“Basically, people are trapped in that space if something happens. It is a trap, it is a physical amphitheatre-like trap that there is no escape from when an eruption occurs.
“It has no habitation, no emergency services and first aid facilities on the island.
“Clearly if and when a major eruption occurs and there are people on the island, then there are going to be great difficulties in getting people off the island quickly, and to get medical care to them. And that is what we saw happen last year.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
Defence counsel says Mark Hohua died after falling on to concrete steps while fleeing.