The family of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand has filed a lawsuit against a cruise ship company. Wiegand fell 11 stories to her death from an open window on a Royal Carribean cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico.
They will likely file it by the end of July, WNDU reported.
Earlier reports of this incident said that Wiegand fell after Salvatore Anello, her grandfather, held her near the window and she slipped out of his hands.
Michael Winkleman, the family’s attorney, claims that Wiegand fell from the window because it was left open in the children’s play area, CBS News reported.
The 18-month-old was playing with her grandfather in a water play area for kids, she then asked him to lift her closer to the window.
The crime scene shows how baby Chloe Wiegand plunged 11 floors to her death on-board a #RoyalCaribbean cruise ship. https://t.co/gvHiOnJ5Er pic.twitter.com/QtRl6rnRH8
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) July 11, 2019
According to Winkleman, the toddler wanted to bang on the glass, CBS News reported.
“Her grandfather thought there was glass just like everywhere else, but there was not, and she was gone in an instant,” Winkleman said.
“We’ve all had that experience where someone walks into a glass sliding door thinking it’s not there,” Winkleman said. “This is the inverse of that,” CBS News reported.
Winkleman said he had doubts about the toddler slipping out of her grandfather’s hands and called the incident a “preventable tragedy,” The Washington Post reported.
The family is asking for surveillance footage of the incident.
The lawyer representing the family of a toddler who died after falling off a cruise ship is blaming the cruise line. He says the death of Chloe Wiegand, who fell 150 feet out of a window after her grandfather allegedly placed her in front of it, was a preventable tragic accident. pic.twitter.com/uyIWuurzIQ
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) July 10, 2019
Memorial Service and Obituary
Following the incident, a memorial service was held for Wiegand on July 15. The service was attended by some of her father’s co-workers, who are police officers from South Bend, attended, WSBT reported.
Statement from SBPD regarding the tragic news coming out of Puerto Rico involving the family of one of our officers. #southbend pic.twitter.com/xjyDSgmV8X
— South Bend Police (@southbendpolice) July 8, 2019
Her family published an obituary between July 13 and July 14 on Legacy.com.
Wiegand was only around for nearly 19 months, but her “smile, beauty, and kindness” had an effect on everyone around her.
“She could make anyone grin with just a glance of her beautiful face and huge brown eyes,” Chloe loved to give hugs and blow kisses, even to strangers.”
Her dog, Penny, was her “best friend.” Wiegand would secretly feed Penny snacks and give her many kisses.
She was also a huge ice hockey fan and her favorite player was her 10-year-old brother.
Every member of her brother’s hockey team was like a brother to her and she was their favorite team mascot.
“Chloe was loved and cherished beyond measure every single moment of her life. This crippling and devastating loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be repaired. We hold her in our hearts and memories and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives. The world was a better place because Chloe existed in it, even for a short time,” wrote her obituary.