'Why is there an open window in the kids' play area 11 stories off the ground?': The mother of the toddler who fell from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship said she blames the company for her daughter's death

Keith Bedford/Reuters

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas ship.

• Kimberly Wiegand, the mother of Chloe, an 18-month-old toddler who died on a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship after falling from the ship's 11th floor, said in an interview with NBC News that she blames Royal Caribbean for the incident.
• Chloe fell from a window in a children's play area that had been opened, NBC News reported.
• Royal Caribbean told Wiegand that it had opened the window to ventilate the area.
• Chloe's grandfather, Sam, who had placed her on a railing behind the open window, did not realize the window was open, Wiegand told NBC News.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Kimberly Wiegand, the mother of Chloe, an 18-month-old toddler who died on a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship after falling from the ship's 11th floor, said in an interview with NBC News that she blames Royal Caribbean for the incident.

"We obviously blame them," Wiegand told the network. Later in the interview she said the company should be held responsible for the incident in court.

Chloe fell from a window in a children's play area that had been opened, NBC News reported. Wiegand told the network that she wondered why the window had been left open.

"We have a lot of questions, primarily, why is there an open window in the kids' play area 11 stories off the ground?" she said.

Read more: An arbitrator awarded over $10 million to a former employee of a Royal Caribbean subsidiary who said he suffered a 'catastrophic' spinal injury

Royal Caribbean told Wiegand that it had opened the window to ventilate the area.

"Well to that I would say, get a fan," she told NBC News. "Come up with some other mechanism to make your guests comfortable rather than creating a tremendous safety hazard that cost our child her life."

Chloe's grandfather, Sam, who had placed her on a railing behind the open window, did not realize the window was open, Wiegand said.

"He was extremely hysterical," she told NBC News. "The thing that he has repeatedly told us is, 'I believed that there was glass.' He will cry over and over. At no point ever, ever, has Sam ever put our kids in danger."

A Royal Caribbean representative directed Business Insider's request for comment to the Puerto Rican authorities who are investigating the incident.

"We are deeply saddened by this incident, and our hearts go out to the family," the Royal Caribbean representative said.

The Puerto Rico Department of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment.

Watch NBC News' full interview here »

Have you worked on a cruise ship? Do you have a story to share? Email this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com.

• Read more:
• Cruise ships are notorious for polluting the ocean, and Carnival and Royal Caribbean are some of the worst offenders
• Carnival and Royal Caribbean paid their median employee less than $20,000 in 2018
• Firefighters in Canada saved nearly 300 people from a stranded cruise ship in a harrowing overnight rescue operation
• The US Coast Guard has called off its search for a Carnival cruise worker who went overboard