Driver sues cruise line over his wife's death

The husband of a hairdresser who died after being injured on a storm-lashed cruise liner and was treated in Malta is suing Royal Carribbean cruise line.

Barbara Davey, 56, fell into a coma in her cabin three days after giant waves battered the luxurious cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas. She was treated in hospital in Malta before being airlifted back to Scotland while still in a coma, the Scottish newspaper Daily Record reported.

Her life support machine was switched off earlier this month.

Mr Davey is arguing that the ship sailed into the storm instead of staying in a safe port. The couple paid £2700 for their cabin for the cruise in the Mediterranean.

"This was our holiday of a lifetime but it has turned into a nightmare which will never end for me.

"We thought we were going to die when the waves hit the ship. It was absolutely terrifying. Messages were broadcast on the PA systems that everyone should stay in their cabins. The whole place was in an uproar.

"Barbara was tossed around like a ragdoll and was seriously hurt. When the storm calmed, the ship's interior was smashed to pieces," Mr Davey told the newspaper.

"I took Barbara off the ship for a few minutes when we eventually docked at Malta, but she was feeling so ill.

"In our cabin she became violently sick. Three days later, she lapsed into unconsciousness before my eyes, fell into a coma, and never woke up."

The cruise liner sailed from Barcelona on December 5, carrying 2500 passengers and 800 crew. It was heading for Alexandria when the violent storm forced a turnaround to Grand Harbour on December 14.

Barbara was bedridden and was complaining of headaches. She vomited before falling into the coma hours later.

The ship was reportedly hit by 45-foot waves whipped up by winds close to 80mph.

John said: "It lurched so badly we thought it was going to topple into the giant waves. Barbara was screaming as the ship bounced backwards and forwards, listing at 30 degree angles.

Mr Davey said doctors believed the incident caused his wife to suffer a series of strokes. On December 28, she was airlifted back to Scotland and admitted to the Western General hospital in Edinburgh.

She died on January 7 of a brain haemorrhage.