Cruise Ship Accidents/Incidents

Arbitration Clauses – The Secret Weapon Used by Cruise Lines to Circumvent the Seventh Amendment

September 17, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Cruise liners spend millions of dollars on advertising aimed at the “passenger experience” and portraying the cruise experience as one where your enjoyment and safety are paramount. What they do not tell you is the lengths to which they have gone to protect themselves from potential civil liability if an accident, attack, or other terrible incident occurs on their ship. If you or a loved one is seriously hurt on a cruise, our team of Miami cruise ship injury lawyers has some sobering news: The fine print hidden on the back of a cruise ticket, written in such small font so as to avoid practically anyone’s notice, protects most cruise liners from responsibility for their carelessness.

Limitations on Your Seventh Amendment Right to a Jury Trial

Sexual Assaults on Cruise Ships

September 8, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Recently, a passenger sued Carnival Cruise ship on account of suffering a sexual assault by an unidentified individual while using the ladies’ restroom in the ship and alleged that, in spite of reporting the incident to the support staff on the same day, no active measure was taken by the cruise ship crew or personnel. Our team of Miami cruise ship lawyers are not surprised. This brings to light the fact that sexual assaults on cruise ships are not uncommon at all.

What to Do if You are Sexually Assaulted on a Cruise Ship

If you and/or the perpetrator of a sexual assault is an American national and the ship sails from or to a U.S. port, then the FBI will have jurisdiction over the case. In other circumstances, it is more complicated to determine which agency—or even which country—has jurisdiction. The location of the vessel, the nationality of the perpetrator or victim, ownership of the vessel, the points of embarkation and debarkation, and the country in which the vessel is flagged may all have an effect on jurisdiction.

Passenger Drowning at Sea – Understanding Your Rights

September 2, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch of UK Government (MAIB) recently published a report about the drowning of a 29-year-old female passenger in a swimming pool on board Sapphire Princess in the East China Sea. The victim was found floating face down in a swimming pool on board the Sapphire Princess. Despite rescue and resuscitation attempts by passengers and crew, the victim did not survive. In their report, MAIB concluded that the mere usage of a notice board expressing that lifeguards were not on duty and persons using the pools should do so at their own risk was inadequate and failed to sufficiently raise awareness among the passengers about the risks of unsupervised swimming. Our team of Miami cruise ship accident lawyers were saddened to hear about this awful incident when it occurred, but we are not surprised by the MAIB’s findings.

Serious safety issues were also noted by the MAIB team during their investigation, and officials specifically noted that:

With no dedicated pool attendants it was left to pool users and bystanders to recognize an emergency and raise an alarm.

Are Cruise Lines Living Up to Their Self-Adopted Passenger “Bill of Rights?

August 25, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) self-adopted a “Bill of Rights” in May of 2013 in order to allegedly fulfill the commitments of care and comfort to all their onboard passengers on luxury cruises throughout the world. Our team of experienced Miami maritime lawyers were hopeful, yet skeptical, of such a self-regulating scheme in the cruise industry. Named the International Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights, cruise ship passengers were provided with numerous “rights” including:

The right to disembark a docked ship if essential provisions such as food, water, restroom facilities, and access to medical care cannot adequately be provided onboard, subject only to the Master’s concern for passenger safety and security and customs and immigration requirements of the port.
The right to a full refund for a trip that is cancelled due to mechanical failures, or a partial refund for voyages that are terminated early due to those failures.

Carnival Plans to Introduce New Mega Cruise Ships

August 17, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Carnival Cruise Line has ordered “mega cruise ships” that will hold about 7,000 passengers each, making them essentially floating cities. Obviously, this means bigger profits for Carnival, as bigger ships will mean more passengers and more ticket sales. But is bigger going to mean better and safer? Probably not. Our team of experienced Miami maritime injury attorneys have handled serious cruise ship injury cases and, in many instances, the focus for the cruise line is to pack as many people on board, regardless of potential safety hazards.

Some maritime experts are getting worried about the security issues associated with putting so many people on a ship at the same time and going for extended voyages at sea. This can pose problems for smaller ports which do not have the infrastructure to handle potentially thousands of people at the same time, especially when it comes to providing emergency services. In fact, mega cruises can practically double a small port’s population in a matter of minutes by dumping an entire “city” full of passengers and creating havoc. In addition, the bigger cruise ships will, by having more number of people on board, increase the danger of outbreak of diseases like the norovirus (which recently occurred on two Royal Caribbean cruise ships in 2015). These mega ships are likely going to be magnets for criminals and thieves looking to steal purses, wallets, and other valuables.

A legislative proposal by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey named the Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2015 (CPPA) will make it mandatory for cruise liners to have built-in state-of-the-art security technologies such as man-overboard detection systems and other relevant security systems. The proposed law would also provide for security measures for passengers who have been victims of crimes at sea. The CPPA is just a proposal at this point working its way through Congress. This means, as of now, the level of security on a cruise ship is dependent upon the discretion of the cruise line.

Criminal Acts at Sea

August 3, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Cruise ships are not always about welcome drinks, sundecks, and romantic dinners under the moonlit night. There are, unfortunately, many serious crimes that can occur on board a cruise ship, no matter how secure you think you may be. Petty thefts, serious assaults, battery, and even rapes have been reported on cruise ships. In fact, over 950 cruise ship crimes were reported to the FBI between 2011 and 2012, and those are only the crimes that the FBI is aware of. Unfortunately, many crimes, especially sexual assaults, go unreported. Our team of Miami maritime lawyers are here to help and have handled many cases for victims of serious criminal acts while on board a cruise ship or other vessel.

Get Treatment, if Needed

If you or a loved one are the victim of a physical assault or rape by a fellow passenger or crew member, seek immediate medical attention. Cruise ships should have trained medical professionals on board to provide treatment. Be sure, once you return to land, to get copies of the medical records so you can provide them to the authorities and to your attorney. This will help established that the incident occurred if a claim is pursued against the cruise liner and/or an employee of the liner.

Cruise Ship Injuries Can Happen Any Time

July 28, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Cruise ship accidents can happen anytime, anywhere, without any prior warning whatsoever. Take, for example, the recent incident involving the Royal Winner Princess II party cruise ship, which hit the Carolina Beach Wildlife Fishing Pier on July 11, 2015 injuring 15 passengers on board. At least two passengers had to be taken off in stretchers under emergency circumstances with neck braces. In spite of all the modern scientific technological advancements, human error accounts for more than eighty percent of cruise ship accidents, according to official reports from the U.S. Coast Guard. Loss of concentration often results in overlooking submerged obstacles lying ahead, like rocks or icebergs, and panicked manoeuvring the huge vessel at the last moment often proves fatal and overturns the ship altogether – injuring passengers on board. As experienced maritime lawyers, we want our readers to understand and be prepared for a serious cruise ship incident.

Important Steps Any Cruise Ship Accident Victim Needs to Take

If you or a loved one gets hurt while on a cruise ship, be sure to report the incident immediately to a crew member or other administrator (be sure to get their full name and contact information). Take photos, record videos, and get the names of any witnesses. You want to have documentation reflecting when and where the incident occurred. Once you have safely returned to land, a written notice of intent to file a claim according to the terms of your cruise ticket is necessary (a maritime lawyer can help with drafting and sending this letter).

More Details Revealed About Horrific Cruise Ship Attack

June 22, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

A lawsuit based in maritime has been filed in the brutal beating of a cruise passenger that we mentioned on our blog a few weeks ago. With the filing of the lawsuit, the victim’s attorney has revealed the carelessness of the cruise line that contributed to the vicious attack. Our Florida maritime law firm is monitoring the case closely.

The Horrific Attack

The case stems from a Holland America cruise ship passenger was brutally beaten by a Holland America employee, who apparently had a master key and used it to gain entry into the victim’s cabin. The employee tried to strangle the woman with a phone cord, smashed her with a laptop and other blunt objects, and even tried to throw her overboard. She was also sexually assaulted. At one point, her oxygen supply was completely cut off from the choking. The entire attack lasted about an hour, until the victim managed to escape the cabin into the hallway.

Food Safety on Cruises is Often Overlooked

June 1, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you are a passenger on a cruise, you may be aware of a number of potential hazards (especially if you are a regular reader of this blog). You may be aware of slippery floors, excursion accidents, mechanical failures, and a number of other possibilities. But one thing we don’t give much thought to is food safety. How safe is the food that cruises are serving?

Report Looks at Cruise Food Safety

ProPublica has looked into this issue in a fascinating, interactive page that allows viewers to look at safety from each aspect of a cruise ship, from the kitchens to the pools to everything in-between. The site also allows you to search for the safety record for a particular cruise ship, although bear in mind there is no obligatory safety reporting required of cruise ships, so the database may not be completely reliable.

Just When You Thought Onboard Cruise Safety Couldn’t Get Worse…

April 16, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Just when it seems that the cruise industry really can’t ignore common sense safety precautions any more than they have already, new information comes out guaranteed to surprise anybody with a modicum of common sense. This time it has to do with national news reports revealing the lack of safety precautions used by cruise ships at their onboard pools.

Report reveals Lack of Lifeguards

An NBC News Today Show report recently revealed that many cruise lines have no lifeguards at or around their onboard pools, despite more than 1.5 children million cruising every year (although lifeguards are a safety precaution for all passengers, not just children).