Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer Blog
Cruise Ships Have Accident Risks at Every Turn
When you sign up for a cruise, you expect to experience a relaxing vacation that involves, food, drink, entertainment, and scenic locales. These ocean behemoths are practical floating cities that can be home to several thousands of people at a time. Just like a city on the shore, cruise ships can expose people to many different risks of serious injury or bodily harm. Some of the more common causes of cruise ship injuries are detailed below. Our Florida cruise ship lawyers will outline some of the more common type incidents below.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall hazards can abound on cruise ships. Between issues like torn carpet, slippery floors, spills that are not cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time, and debris left in walkways, there are many ways that a cruise ship’s staff can negligently cause a serious slip and fall accident. In many cases, these accidents lead to serious injuries including broken bones, severe lacerations, and even traumatic brain injuries.
Pools and Waterslides
Cruise lines have a duty to ensure that the pools, waterslides, or other water-based recreational areas on their ships are well-maintained and free from any unreasonably dangerous conditions. Unfortunately, this does not always happen and every year, people are hurt in accidents that involve poorly-maintained or constructed pools and waterslides on cruise ships. Some issues that can cause such injuries include exposed hardware, inadequate supervision, dangerous debris in the pool, lack of depth markers, and faulty diving boards.
Defective Exercise Equipment
Another potential cause of injury on a cruise ship is faulty exercise equipment. When people on a cruise want to get a workout, they have the right to assume that the exercise equipment provided by the cruise line is in safe working order. When weight machines, treadmills, or other exercise equipment fails, serious injuries can occur as a result. In many cases, it may be possible for victims of these accidents to hold the cruise line liable for their losses.
Negligence on a Cruise Ship Can Be a Complicated Issue
In order to recover for their medical bills and other losses, victims need to be able to show that their accident was the result of negligence on cruise ship. In many cases, whether negligence caused a particular accident is a complicated matter. For example, if you slipped and fell on a wet pool deck, you may assume that it was an unavoidable accident – after all, pool decks are supposed to be wet, right?
While this may be true, it may also be true that there was some type of negligence that caused or contributed to your accident, allowing you recover. For example, was the material the cruise ship chose for the deck appropriate? Was the spill so large as to warrant action by the maintenance staff? The answers to these and other questions may have an impact on your case, so it is always advisable to have an attorney review your legal rights.
Contact Gerson & Schwartz P.A. Today to Speak with a Cruise Ship Accident Attorney
When cruise ship passengers are injured by the negligence of the cruise line’s staff or crew, they are often entitled to significant compensation. It is important to understand, however, that you only may have a matter of months to file a claim, so it is critical to speak to a lawyer as soon as possible. To learn more about how we can help you, call the Florida cruise ship accident and personal injury lawyer at Gerson & Schwartz PA, today at 877-475-2905 or contact us online.