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With the popularity of cruise travel there has been a rise in cruise ship cases. Now it has become absolutely essential for the cruise ship companies to be held responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their passengers. Millions of people embark on cruises from Miami each year. There are many incidents of passengers suffering serious injuries and even sexual assaults on-board. Personal injury lawyers of Miami are committed to help those victims obtain compensation from companies that are responsible for providing a safe environment.
Personal Injury Attorneys of Miami have recovered substantial compensations for the victims. They have been successful in obtaining awards for clients who have sustained injuries while on board of major cruise lines like:
- Carnival Cruise Lines
- Celebrity Cruises
- Norwegian Cruise Lines
Types of injuries that can happen on a cruise ship are:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Sexual molestation by cruise ship member
- Drowning
- Head Injury
- Contaminated food leading to severe illness, like norwalk virus infections, gastrointestinal infections, salmonella
- Food poisoning
- Medical negligence-People who are treated aboard a cruise liner may be left at ports in other countries without making any proper arrangements for their care. It is not necessary that the treating doctors are qualified or have proper medical equipment. There is a possibility of wrong diagnosis or improper treatment
- Physical assault by a cruise ship member
- Accidents occurring on cruise line approved picnic trips at ports of call
The most commonly occurring cases handled by Miami cruise ship injury lawyers are on board accidents like slipping on soapy decks, injuries sustained when a passenger is hit by a falling object, food poisoning, being thrown by rough seas due to some careless act of the captain. Injuries also occur when passengers leave the ship to visit ports of call. Cruise ships arrange and promote tours, trips, scuba, fishing and several other leisure activities. In some cases they fail to check out or monitor the safety of companies that provide the services that cruise ships sell to the passengers.
If a passenger on a cruiseliner has suffered an injury then personal injury lawyers in Miami can help to obtain compensations and rewards for that person. An individual is entitled to claim the following compensations from the court:
- Recovery of medical expenses
- Compensation for lost wages
- Reward for pain and suffering, physical and mental
There are certain important technical points that are known only to personal injury attorneys of Miami. For example, claims for injury and death do not fall under the Jones Act but generally under General Maritime Law. There are so many other laws that are beyond the scope of a layman and only an experienced cruise ship injury lawyer of Miami can explain such as Contract Law and Deceptive Trade Practices Law. It is important to contact personal injury lawyers in Miami who are experts in General Maritime Law and Cruise Ship Claims.
The following most important facts have to be considered when dealing with a personal injury lawyer:
- Avoid direct dealing with the cruise ship line other than forcing them to document your injury
- Request cruise ship line to provide copy of the report
- Do not sign on any document even your personal report
- Do not believe in the statements of the guilty company
The location of injury is very important in cases involving cruiseliners. If the injuries have taken place in a cruise ship on United States waters and within the territorial waters of a coastal state like California then state law gets applied to the case. If the injury take place more than three miles from shore, then general maritime law applies and is used to ascertain both liability and damages. If death occurs on board a cruise line, a wrongful death claim may be filed. However, when an accident happens more than three miles from the shore and results in death, the Death On The High Seas Act comes into play. Different laws apply to someone who has died while out at sea.
Injury and death aboard a cruise ship is easily preventable by observing certain precautions. Cruiseship injuries claim attorneys of Miami argue that it is the duty of cruiseliner providing services to maintain safety aboard. It has been seen many times that the Cruise lack in implementing security measures and the guests either get injured or killed as a result of cruise ship negligence. Inadequate security, failing to maintain the property, and unable to inspect the property frequently contribute to the occurrence of serious injury and death. An experienced injury or death claim attorney of Miami should be hired in cases related to cruise ship liability like serious trip and fall, slip and fall, and rape and molestation.
Statute of limitations for cruise line injury claim in Miami
Statute of limitations vary from state to state. In case of a cruise line injury lawsuit the statute of limitations is short - sometimes being only one year from the date of the injury. Miami personal injury attorneys state that this is true even though an injured victim may still be receiving treatment more than a year after the accident. The normal statute of limitations for admiralty and maritime matters is three years. In order to shorten time cruise lines often insert special provisions into their passenger tickets. This manipulation cuts short the time to one year. Cruise lines can also designate the location where they can be sued, which is referred to as forum selection clause.
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