protected from liability by a ticket disclaimer.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-17612629
Ryan versus The White Star Line
Apparently:
(snip)
"Ryan sued the White Star Line for damages over the death of his son, alleging that the company was negligent.
For seven days, in June 1913, Thomas Ryan went to the Royal Courts of Justice in London in an attempt to bring the White Star Line to account for the tragedy.
The White Star Line was well defended and had been cleared by two inquiries already. In addition, each ticket bore an extraordinary disclaimer that stated:
"Neither the ship owner, agent, or passage-broker shall be liable to any passenger carried under this contract for loss, damage, or delay to the passenger or his baggage arising from the act of God, public enemies, arrests or restraints of princes, rulers, or people, fire, collision, stranding, perils of the sea, rivers, or navigation of any kind, even though the loss, damage, or delay may have been caused or contributed to by the neglect or default of the ship owner's servants or other persons for whose acts he would otherwise be responsible."
This effectively stated that the White Star Line could not be held liable even if the sinking was the White Star Line's fault.
On this point, Ryan's case was upheld, because his son Patrick and two friends had been issued just one ticket between them.
It was successfully argued that Patrick had not seen the ticket, so couldn't have read the disclaimer. Crucially, Justice Bailhache also found that the wording on the ticket was in contravention of British Board of Trade regulations, which meant that the White Star Line's blanket disclaimer for negligence was now worthless.
The case was a civil action and was heard before a special jury, and they found that the White Star Line was negligent in respect of the speed of the Titanic, which did not slow down despite at least three warnings of ice.
£100 for a life
At the end of case, Thomas Ryan was awarded £100 for his son's death - the equivilent to one year's wages.
In addition to bringing the White Star Line to account in the death of his son, Thomas Ryan achieved another far-reaching victory, setting a precedent in consumer contract law that protected rights for passengers." (snip)
= new reply since forum marked as read
