Cases involving injuries to cruise ship passengers may include injuries, deaths, missing passengers who apparently fell in the ocean, passengers being hit by falling objects, food poisoning, being thrown by rough seas due to the neglect of the captain and nearly every other conceivable type of injury possible on land can exist on cruise ships. Injuries also occur when passengers leave the ship to visit ports of call. Cruise ships arrange and promote tours, trips, scuba, fishing and other activities and sometimes they do not check out or monitor the safety of these companies that provide the services the cruise ship sells to the passengers.
Pineola is an unincorporated community in Avery County, North Carolina; generally spanning out in a three mile radius from the intersection of US highway US 221 and NC 181. The area was originally known as "Saginaw" until the early 20th century. Pineola is the site of several businesses including an asphalt plant, a concrete plant, a sawmill, and a small hotel. The Linville River flows through the area, and is impounded by a dam into a small lake for a resort community. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes through the southeast portion of the area. During the early 1900s it was notably the site of a large logging operation and sawmill, owned by the W.M. Ritter Company. The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ("Tweetsie") operated into the community until 1939, when it received permission, by the Interstate Commerce Commission, to abandon Pineola.