Accidents can occur anywhere. While on vacation, a significant injury might be sustained on a cruise. It is estimated that more than nine million passengers travel on pleasure cruises departing North American ports each year. It has also been reported that, since 2016, there has been an upward trend of accident or negligence cases against cruise lines and that personal injury cases against the three biggest cruise lines, i.e., Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings accounted for 78 to 87 % of all federal litigation they faced over the past five years.
Common causes of cruise ship injuries, include ship collisions, technical problems, passengers falling overboard, assaults by crew members, food poisoning as well as slip and fall incidents. These acts of negligence can lead to serious injuries such as broken bones, concussions, and internal organ damage. In the event of injury or wrongful death, one can bring a claim or lawsuit against Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, or Celebrity Cruise Lines.
First, it is important to clarify that when a person purchases a ticket and boards a cruise ship, they automatically accept the cruise line’s contract. One can typically find this contract in the fine print on the bottom of their ticket. By making the purchase and boarding the ship, an individual legally consents to the terms of the cruise line. This liability waiver can bar injured parties from pursuing certain claims against the various cruise lines. It can also list important claim information, such as deadlines for filing. The contract may state something like, “the cruise line is not liable for any personal injury, illness, or death unless negligent.”
It is also important to know that the contract does not protect the cruise line from every personal injury claim. It is only those that the carrier or cruise line employees had not caused or to which they had not contributed. If one believes the cruise line or one of its employees is guilty of negligence or intent to harm, their case will circumvent the stipulations of the ticket purchase. Otherwise, the subject cruise line on which a person traveled would be free to cause harm or conduct business negligently without fear of legal repercussions. An example would be if the injury was entirely the passenger’s fault or due to their own carelessness, then they will not have a case. Various resulting injuries for which a passenger cannot sue include, but are not limited to, if you drank too much alcohol and tripped down the stairs; if you were fooling around in an area blocked off to guests with proper signage; or did not follow proper instructions and fell, etc.
On the other hand, the type of cruise injuries one can make a claim or sue for are torn carpeting which caused a fall; loose handrail caused a tumble down the stairs; and proper signage was not used to alert guests to avoid an area or use caution. In the foregoing, one might have a premises liability lawsuit against the carrier for failing to properly maintain the cruise ship.
A cruise line lawsuit may also have a foundation in the legal theory of negligence. For instance, this might be the case if the ship’s cook failed to properly refrigerate fish, leading to an outbreak of food poisoning.
A cruise ship owes its passengers a duty of safe transportation. Passengers who are injured aboard a ship may file lawsuit against: the owner of the cruise ship; the company that chartered the cruise ship; the company that operated the cruise ship, and/or the Company that sold the ticket as an agent of the cruise ship owner, charterer, or operator. Each of these claims may be subject to cruise ship laws which affect where and when the passenger may file suit.
The initial hurdle is that personal injury claims against a cruise line company usually require passengers to file them in the same state of the company’s headquarters. In the alternative, there other forum selection clauses. These provisions, also contained in the ticket package, dictate where a lawsuit may be filed against the cruise line. It does not matter where the passenger is from, or where the cruise departed. Currently, cruise lines have limited the location where claims may be brought to a handful of cities where larger ports are located, such as Miami, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This can be an issue for people that live elsewhere, and with many major cruise lines based in Florida such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, and Norwegian Cruise Lines, or the location designated to bring a lawsuit may be Miami, then a Florida based attorney may be in the best position to represent the injured party and litigate these claims.
Further, most cruise lines also have a notice requirement. That means, if you want to sue them, you must give them formal written notice of your claim within a specific period, usually just a couple of months after the injury or illness is sustained. For injuries occurring due to negligence associated with a cruise line, the contractual provisions typically call for a limited timeframe. More specifically for injuries or deaths stemming from negligence associated with a cruise ship, the contract, which is usually contained in the ticket package, typically provides that a passenger must provide notice of a claim to the cruise line within six months and commence a lawsuit within one year.
Therefore, an added hurdle is that cruise ship accident lawsuits carry a one-year statute of limitations. This limited timeframe combined with the need to file in the same state of the company’s headquarters can create an incredibly tight, inconvenient, and often expensive litigation process for out-of-state passengers injured in a cruise ship accident.
Bringing a lawsuit against a cruise line for onboard injuries requires a different process from personal injury claims on land. Cruise ship injuries involve elements of maritime law, a distinct body of law which governs offenses and activities on water vessels. There are also different filing deadlines and liability concerns one must consider.
Regarding non-physical injury claims, cruise lines impose a shorter limitation period. Most cruise lines require that written claims be filed within days as opposed to months after the accident. Courts may decide not to enforce these limitations if they were unreasonable under the circumstances or contrary to a state statute of limitations.
Maritime laws require plaintiffs to prove fault. A common carrier owes the highest degree of care to its passengers. However, unlike typical strict liability cases, passengers must prove negligence or intent to harm to bring a claim against said cruise line. This involves having evidence of the cruise line’s failure to exercise due care thereby resulting in injury.
As a common carrier, or a vessel that carries passengers for money, cruise ships must obey certain common carrier laws. These laws and rules include providing: adequate fire protection; competent crewmembers; safe and sanitary food services; firefighting and lifesaving equipment; stable watercraft; safe navigation; vessel control; environmental protection; protection from physical harm; safe arrival at the destination; protection from crewmember assaults and/or reasonable search and rescue for missing passengers, among others.
Passengers who sustain injuries due to negligence or intent to harm may be able to recover compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, lost time at work, and other damages.
At the time of an accident and shortly thereafter, gather as much information as possible about what happened, such as statements from people who witnessed the incident, names of cruise ship staff members on the scene, photographs of anything relevant to your claim and any other relevant details that may be helpful in the potential case.
If one must go to the onboard hospital for treatment of injuries sustained, then have a friend or family member gather medical as well as other relevant information. As expected, it is vital to record details of the subject incident while they are still fresh in one’s memory.
You must file your lawsuit at the cruise line’s headquarters or as designated on the ticket. Despite being highly inconvenient for passengers who live out of state or even in a different country, cruise ship liability waivers state that injured passengers must file claims in the state of the company’s headquarters or as otherwise designated. In addition, Cruise ship lawsuits are often subject to a one-year statute of limitations. This means that a cause of action must commence within one year or the passenger loses their right to pursue compensation.
Probably, the key factor in a case against a cruise line is the ability to prove negligence. This factor hinges on the court ruling that a “reasonably careful ship operator” would have done something different in the same situation, such as knowing about a faulty staircase railing and taking steps to repair the issue. Although it is impossible for a cruise line company to foresee all dangerous conditions, they have a duty to reasonably prevent harm to passengers.
Finally, report the accident and injuries to the cruise line as soon as possible, not only to receive a possible refund but also to have documented proof that the incident occurred and that it was reported to authorities in a timely manner. Keep a record of the employees or representatives with whom one speaks, what he/she said, and how the cruise line responded to the subject incident and injuries.
If there are any additional QUESTIONS regarding the foregoing matters, contact or call the Attorneys at CASERTA & SPIRITI before an unfortunate and unexpected accident occurs and after to discuss the details of your case!!