Cruise amputee won’t give up

It should be flattering that my friends at USA Today and AOL Travel News have followed up a story from today’s Mirror, but, to be honest, there is no story.
We reported that a passenger who claims he suffered severe burns to his feet while on a cruise aboard Ocean Village, and eventually had a leg amputated, was still fighting for compensation.
In fact, 55-year-old Ronnie Dunbar, of Wallsend, abandoned his legal battle two months ago after his legal team withdrew and he went past the two-year time limit to take action.
Mr Dunbar, a former soldier, took his wife Pearl on the Caribbean cruise to celebrate his wife Pearl’s 50th birthday.
Ten days into the holiday, when the ship was in Belize, he says he spent half an hour on a sunlounger. “I decided I would go and get a drink. I put my feet on the deck and they got stuck and started to sizzle.”
He was treated in the ship’s medical centre and then says he spent the afternoon “in the bar to numb the pain.” It was only when he returned to his cabin later in the evening that he realised the full extent of his injuries.
“When we flew back I went straight to North Tyneside Hospital and then the Royal Victoria Infirmary burns unit. They said the feet were infected.” After several operations, Mr Dunbar’s left leg was amputated below the knee.
He then began legal proceedings, claiming the ship should have provided signs warning that metal parts of the ship could get hot in the sun.
After going through the drawn-out legal processes, his solicitors said they could not continue the case as there was not enough evidence that the cruise operator had been negligent. They withdrew in October 2009, before the case reached court.
A spokesperson for TLW solicitors told the Newcastle Chronicle: “Unfortunately, despite the horrific injuries suffered by Mr Dunbar, our assessment of the evidence, and that of the two independent travel law barristers we instructed in Mr Dunbar’s case was that we would not be able to prove negligence on the part of the cruise company. It was with great reluctance we were not able to pursue the matter further on Mr Dunbar’s behalf.”
A spokesman for the cruise line said: “Ocean Village did not admit liability in relation to the allegations made by Mr Dunbar. Court proceedings were never brought by Mr Dunbar and his solicitors confirmed they had ceased to act in the matter in October 2009.”
What has brought the matter back into the news today? Mr Dunbar is reported to have hired a new legal team.
Sorry guys, I don’t see that’s a great step forward. So why have I just written nearly 500 words about it? There could be a joke somewhere about his chances of success. But I don’t think it’s a laughing matter.