Cruise Line Injuries
With the Costa Concordia sinking in the news everyday how can we not ask ourselves: What are those passengers facing?
No matter how it happened, the end result of the sinking of the Concordia off the Italian coast will be many passengers who have suffered injury and loss. Imagine being awakening onboard a cruise liner and having to abandon ship in the cold..at night. Imagine leaving all your clothing, money and valuables and fleeing for your very life, with only the clothes on your back. These issues will have to be addressed by thousands. Cruise lines and their ships are regulated by maritime law and must adhere to these rules to guarantee the well-being of their passengers and crew. It is commonplace for cruise ship companies to be careless when it comes to ensuring the safety of those on the ship. Many passengers and crew have fallen victim to injury and even death because of a cruise line’s negligence.
Injuries happen when the cruise line fails to have appropriate safety guidelines in place and when crewmembers ignore those guidelines. Minimal security has encouraged attacks on passengers and crew. Frequent accidents on cruise ships include falls, faulty equipment, sexual assault by crew or passengers, food poisoning, and injuries while on an excursion or other stops on land.
Suing cruise lines can be complex. If you fail to follow the rules on your ticket, you run the very real risk of the court throwing out your personal injury claim against the cruise ship company.
- Cruise line contracts often contain clauses written to limit your claim.
- Your claim for compensation can extend beyond the parent cruise company.
You don’t have to go to court, but you must have attorneys who aren’t afraid to. Not all claims have to go to court to get fair settlement for clients. But you do need to work with attorneys who aren’t afraid to go to trial and who have a reputation for aggressive litigation.
Few people realize that recovering your loses in an accident on a cruise liner may be difficult and may require a great deal of time and patience. These ships, their crew and their owner’s are very well protected from claims. International laws will likely come into play as will maritime and admiralty laws. If such an accident were to cause you injury or loss you need to be certain that you seek legal counsel from experienced attorneys who have knowledge of these issues.
If you or a loved one has suffered a cruise ship injury, and require the immediate services of a highly experienced and aggressive attorney, please call the Firm at 561 748-8000 or email us at [email protected].