article_snippet: The husband of a critically ill grandmother who died after being plunged into the icy North Sea during a bungled cruise ship rescue has hit out at the justice system after The husband of a critically ill grandmother who died after being plunged into the icy North Sea during a bungled cruise ship rescue was paid less than £13,000 compensation.
article_snippet: ’ Mrs Richardson (pictured in water) , of Penrith, who was married to Janet for 30 years, said: ‘I received less than £20,000 in total because his wife had pre-existing health problems but the trauma of being plunged into icy water definitely hastened his wife .
article_snippet: husband had been on a cruise to see the Northern Lights on board Ocean Countess when ’ Mrs Richardson (pictured in water)  suffered a gastro-intestinal haemorrhage in March 2011.
article_snippet: Because ’ Mrs Richardson (pictured in water)  suffered from cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure and was an insulin-dependent diabetic prior to the cruise and because ’ Mrs Richardson (pictured in water)  later died of natural causes the compensation payment was restricted.
article_snippet: The Ocean Countess was owned by Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) at the time but caught fire near Greece in 2013 and has since been sold for scrap.
article_snippet: Joanne Berry, solicitor at Slater and Gordon, said ’ Mrs Richardson (pictured in water)  had received the maximum bereavement damages of £12,980 plus added payments.
article_snippet: Chris Coates of CMV said a full and final settlement was offered to ’ Mrs Richardson (pictured in water)  by the ship’s owners and insurer’s for the Norwegian Search and Rescue Service.