Imagine holding your grandchild near an 11th story cruise ship window, only to discover too late there was no glass in it.

The grandfather of 18 month old Chloe Wiegand has decided to plead guilty "to help end part of this nightmare.".

Attorneys for Salvatore Anello, from Indiana, filed documents in a Puerto Rico court to change his plea from negligent homicide. Mr Anello is not expected to be given any time in prison and will serve his probation in Indiana.

The incident stems from an accident last year in which the family has since filed a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean, claiming the cruise ship company's negligence led to the child's death.

The lawsuit says Chloe was with her mother in a children's area on the ship's 11th deck.  The mother had to attend to another matter, and the child's grandfather (Anello) came to supervise the child.  The lawsuit says "Mr. Anello was closely supervising Chloe as she played," and at one point "Chloe walked to a nearby wall of glass windows on the same deck," her grandfather accompanied her.  "Unknown to Mr. Anello at that time, this was not, in fact, a wall of fixed glass," the suit continued. Instead, some of the panes in the middle row could be opened, including other passengers.

After reaching the windows, the girl asked to be lifted so she could bang on the glass as she did at her brother’s hockey games, the suit says. The grandfather lifted her onto the railing and held her as she leaned forward to bang on the glass that they thought to be in front of them. But with no glass there, "she slipped from Mr. Anello’s arms, falling through the open pane and down approximately 150 feet below" onto the pier in San Juan, killing her, according to the suit.  The family's suit suggests the accident could have been avoided if the cruise ship's owners posted warning signs, marks on the windows, or other methods to prevent such an incident.

At the law offices of T. Verner Smith, we represent clients who have suffered personal injury or worse due to the negligence of another. These types of lawsuits not only provide necessary compensation for those who were wrongfully hurt in an accident, but also creates an environment of caution leading to higher safety standards for all.
​Call us for a free consultation at (731) 423-1888, (901) 730-4567, or (615) 371-6136.