Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer Blog

Carnival Cruise Slip & Fall Accidents: What is wrong with the floors inside the Breeze Lido marketplace?

February 8, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Cruise ship slip and fall accidents happen all too often. That is especially so on the vessel Carnival Breeze. The “Breeze” had it’s maiden voyage in June 2012 making it a relatively new ship in the Carnival fleet and is one of Carnival’s largest passenger ships. It is part of the “Dream” Class, and holds roughly 3,900 passengers and 900 crew members. Slip and fall accidents inside lido market place restaurant seem to happen so frequently some wonder, should the largest cruise line in the wold take the ship out of service? The lido market place on the Breeze is located on deck 10. What you may not know is that the Lido market place restaurant is notorious for slip and fall accidents, many of which result in serious injuries. Slip and falls happen in the Lido on the Breeze can happen even when the floors appear dry and without any warning and at any time. The cruise ship injury lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA have represented numerous passengers injured inside the Lido market place. Slip and fall accidents happen with such regularity on this particular vessel that it heightened attention within Carnival shortly after the vessel was placed into service in June 2012. Testing of the tile floor surfaces inside the Lido have proven they have inadequate and poor slip resistance properties and are even known to be defective are dangerous. The end result, dozens upon dozens of slip and fall accidents with serious injuries. Despite actual knowledge of the dangers in the Lido market place, Carnival doesn’t warn its passengers about the dangers that the tile floor surfaces pose and which they know.

Due to the number and nature of slip and fall accidents that occur on an almost regular basis and the failure of Carnival to find a permanent solution to the problem legal claims for punitive damages are not out of question for thse cruise ship accident and injury victims. Generally speaking, punitive damages are uncommon in slip and fall accident lawsuits. That is because the legal standard for punitive damages under federal maritime law requires a much higher burden to meet and more difficult to prove in the court room. Injury victims must prove conduct of that is either intentional harm, “gross negligence” or concious disregard for the life and safety of others. But, lido makret place slip and fall accidents on the Carnival Breeze occurr so frequently that they are warranted on this particular ship says, maritime attorney Nicholas I. Gerson with Gerson & Schwartz, PA. Why doesn’t Carnival just repair or replace the tile floor surfaces? According to Gerson, it’s really more of a business decision. “Profits over safety”, What else? As far as the Breeze is concerned, money and the financial implications of taking a huge passenger ship out of service would be very costly. This is one of Carnival’s premier money makers. The Breeze departs nearly every week. It holds the most passengers of all Carnival’s 24 ships and doesn’t’ travel all that far, nor are the trips very long.

At a minimum, the Breeze would likely have to be out of service for anywhere from two weeks to a month, maybe longer. When you calculate the amount of money that Carnival would have to forfeit, return, or lose, it appears that it makes more business sense for them to just wait until the ship goes into dry dock. The Breeze is not scheduled to go into dry dock until sometime in late 2017. In the latest lawsuit filed against Carnival regarding the Breeze, punitive damages have been included in two lawsuites filed. Carnival has already moved to dismiss the punitive damages claims early on in the law suit process . Their motion was rightfully denied. In other words, the presiding United States District Court judge believed that based on the allegations in the complaint and combination of the applicable federal law, the claims for punitive damages should be decided on the merits.

Drowning on a Cruise Ship Vacation

February 5, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Embarking on a cruise ship vacation, to most, is a great experience accompanied with relaxation and exploration. Nevertheless, catastrophic and often fatal accidents can and do occur on cruise ships. For instance, recently a ten-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. Said ship had to sail immediately to a nearby port in Florida. This incident occurred on a Sunday afternoon when the ship’s medical team responded to an emergency call from the pool deck that a ten-year-old female guest was reported unresponsive. Of course, the medical team administered quick CPR and proper emergency care. After countless efforts, the guest could not be revived.

In all, if you or a loved one is injured on a cruise ship, it is important that you hire an experienced maritime attorney. The relevant law governing your case may be complex. In fact, there are special laws both federal and international that govern injury and death lawsuits that take place at sea. Additionally, statutes of limitations are much shorter, sometimes only six months from the date of incident. If your accident occurred on navigable waters, either near the United States or near a foreign shore, this presents complex legal issues and admiralty, maritime, and even foreign laws may apply to your particular case.

Our Miami, Florida maritime lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz PA have plentiful experience filing claims against all the major cruise lines. Our attorneys are skilled at representing passengers and crew members who suffer serious and catastrophic injuries. If you are injured, we will fight to enforce your legal rights. We also will not hesitate to bring your case to trial if a fair settlement offer is not made.

Cruise Ship Injuries

January 29, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Face it, we all love vacations. They are a time to get away, clear your head, and simply relax. What we do not want is to face a tragedy while on vacation. Tragedy can happen anywhere and to anybody. For instance, just two months ago, a passenger fell off a cruise ship off the coast of Florida. Prior to falling overboard, the passenger was involved in a verbal altercation with several of the ship’s crewmembers. These crewmembers yelled many gay slurs at said passenger who was on a vacation with his husband. Following the verbal altercations the passenger was seen falling off the side of the ship and grabbing a hold of a lifeboat. Cell phone videos captured this scary scene. The passenger eventually lost his grip and fell into the dark, treacherous ocean. The frantic search that covered 931 nautical miles was unsuccessful, and the investigation is currently pending as to the cause of this tragic incident.

Tragic accidents, can happen to anyone anywhere, even on cruise ships. If you are a cruise ship passenger or crewmember and you are injured on the cruise ship, you should hire an experienced lawyer for your case. There are special laws, both federal and international, that govern injury and death claims at sea. Fortunately, the Florida cruise ship accident lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA have significant experience aggressively pursuing claims against all the major cruise lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Lines, Holland America, Celebrity, Costa, Seabourn, Regent, Crystal and many other vessels.

What to Do if You or a Loved One is Injured on a Cruise Ship

The Dangers of Shore Excursions

January 22, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

For cruise trips, shore excursions are rapidly growing in popularity and variety. Shore excursions help maintain the interest and attention of passengers of a particular cruise. Excursions typically offer access to a wide variety of tourist areas that are different from the ports and harbors where the cruise ship rests. They are also popular because by booking a specific excursion, the individual does not have to stress about sightseeing on this or her own. Instead, the cruise ship will take care of this. The cruise company will choose a relevant and necessary onshore tourist site and allow the individual to enjoy the highest quality of time there.

Albeit fun and convenient, excursion accidents do happen, and these accidents are sometimes tragic. Just last summer an Alaska sightseeing excursion plane crashed killing all nine passengers including the pilot! This plane was carrying cruise ship passengers on a shore excursion when it suddenly crashed near Ketchikan in the Misty Fjords area. Said plane was first reported missing at around 2:06 p.m., or 6:06 p.m. Eastern Time. Less than 30 minutes after the initial report, said plane was spotted by a helicopter crew against a granite rock face. Search and rescue teams then reached the crash site which was nearly 800 feet above Ella Lake.

Maritime laws differ significantly from ordinary personal injury laws and are highly complex and unique. Maritime laws maintain several rules pertaining to the time you may file your claim, legal liability, and the amount of money recoverable from your case. Generally, maritime law consists of a combination of different bodies of law from federal statutes, international treaties, laws of contract, and even substantive foreign law. Many people are unaware that maritime laws may govern their accident. Thus, if you are injured in a maritime accident, you should contact a qualified Florida maritime attorney.

Rape and Sexual Assaults on Cruise Ships

January 15, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Instances of rape, sexual assault, and other sex crimes occur frequently on cruise ships. Just last year a cruise ship employee used a master key to enter the room of a female passenger. He hid on the room’s balcony until she returned. On her return to the room, she went to bed and was awakened by the intruder. The crewmember began choking her. The passenger fought for her life in every way she could by biting him and stabbing him with a corkscrew. The passenger was sexually assaulted, punched, and beaten with a laptop and a curling iron. She incurred brain injuries, fractures to her skull, spine, and face, and numerous bite marks. The crewmember even tried to snap the passenger’s neck. The crewmember tried to kill her. He became nervous when other passengers began knocking on the door and jumped off the balcony to the lower level in hopes of getting away. He was eventually caught.

Maritime law holds cruise lines strictly liable for the intentional, wrongful, and criminal acts of their employees. This includes rape and sexual assault. Rules of law governing conduct on cruise ships can be complex. To add to the complexities, cruise ships are governed by federal law, not state law, when the cruise ship is more than three nautical miles out at sea. If you or a loved one is a victim of a crime on a cruise ship, it is important that you seek the representation of an experienced maritime law attorney. The Miami, Florida maritime lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz PA have experience filing claims against all the major cruise lines.

The Cruise Ship Vessel Security Act of 2010

11-Year-Old Girl Molested on Disney Cruise

January 7, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last December, a Honduran man was arrested after allegedly fondling an 11-year-old girl aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship. The ship disembarked from Port Miami for a weekend long cruise. While aboard the ship, the girl told her parents that the man, 31-year-old Palma Ortega, had fondled her three times. If you or someone you love was the victim of sexual assault on a cruise ship, consider contacting a Miami Cruise Ship Sexual Assault Attorney.

Miami-Dade police are charging Ortega with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor, and he is being held without bond. Upon detention, Ortega confessed to the crime. In the state of Florida, the lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12 is a felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison. The man is also on an immigration hold and may be subject to deportation.

It is not clear yet whether or not Ortega was a crewmember of the Disney cruise line, but regardless, the cruise ship company does not have the best track record of responding to sexual assaults by their crew members. In 2013, a similar event took place, where an 11-year-old girl was groped by a dining room employee on the Disney Dream cruise ship while the ship was docked at Port Canaveral. Local police could not arrest the man because Disney did not report the assault until the next day. Instead of receiving justice, the man was sent back to his home country of India.

Cruise Ship Crew Member Dies in Elevator

January 1, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

While the exact details of the accident are still under investigation, what is clear is that a crew member died in a Carnival Ecstasy elevator while passengers caught glimpses of the gruesome scene. The ship was in the last legs of a Caribbean cruise departing from Miami when Florida residents Matt Davis and his wife were walking toward the elevator and noticed it was malfunctioning, only partly open and dripping with a copious amount of blood. When they alerted the cruise ship’s staff, they were told to leave the scene and enter the restaurant.

Miami-Dade police are currently investigating the freak accident that killed electrician Jose Sandoval Opazo, 66, of Liguria, Italy. Carnival Cruise Line has been reluctant to provide many details regarding the incident but do extend their support to the victim and his family. Witnesses of the accident say that crew members told them that Opazo was working either inside or behind the elevator when the elevator came down. If you were injured or lost a loved one aboard a cruise ship consider contacting a Miami Cruise Ship Accident Attorney.

Carnival Cruise Line has been fraught with controversy surrounding various catastrophic accidents in recent years. In 2012 the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people. The cause of the accident was the hubris of the ship’s captain who intentionally steered the ship too close to shore. In 2013 the Carnival Triumph caught fire, which knocked out the ship’s power, leaving the cruise stranded for four days without working toilets.

Eight-Year-Old Boy Drowns in Cruise Ship Swimming Pool

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

While aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, an 8-year-old boy drowned in one of the ship’s swimming pools. The ship named “The Liberty of the Seas” was traveling from Galveston, Texas to Cozumel, Mexico when the tragedy occurred. The child’s body was discovered by one of the passengers and removed from the pool. A member of the ship’s medical team performed CPR on the child for over an hour but was unsuccessful. If you were injured or lost a loved one in a cruise ship accident, consider contacting a Miami Cruise Ship Accident Attorney.

Despite the many risks involved with swimming children, most cruise lines do not have lifeguards stationed at their family pools. It is telling that in this situation a passenger and not a cruise ship employee had to be the one to first attempt to rescue the boy from the pool.

While signs are always posted to warn passengers to swim at their own risk, it makes you wonder if that is enough to protect children on cruises. Especially when you consider the scenario of a long cruise where there are many opportunities for a child to be separated from his or her parent and swim unsupervised, the lack of lifeguards is baffling.

Cruise Ship Season in Florida Could be Bigger than Last Year

December 18, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Cruise ship season has begun in Florida. As cruise ships leave the coasts of Europe and Alaska, seeking warmer waters in Florida and the Caribbean, many Americans are choosing cruise ships as the venue for their wintertime vacations. Cruise lines have been reporting increased numbers of bookings from last year, with Carnival Cruise Corp. boasting a 20% increase in early 2016 bookings from the previous year. With an increased number of Americans choosing to sail on cruise ships comes increased numbers of accidents that cruise ship companies could be liable for. If you were injured or lost a loved one aboard a cruise ship, contact an experienced Miami Cruise Ship Accident Attorney today.

Cruise Ship Season in Florida

Cruise ship season in Florida typically stretches from November until April. Americans suffering cold winters flock to Florida for reprieve from blizzards and subzero temperatures. 62% of all people who have left the US on a cruise ship has done so through a Florida port. With Hurricane season ending in October, the winter months are some of the safest times to travel the sea.

$21.5 Million Verdict Against Holland America Cruise Line for a Faulty Door

December 11, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

A US District Court in Seattle awarded $21.5 million in damages to a man from Illinois who suffered injuries from a faulty door on a Holland America cruise ship. The man received a minor brain injury after a sliding glass door closed on his head. The sum was awarded by a unanimous decision by a jury after a nine day trial. If you were injured or lost a loved one aboard a cruise ship, consider contacting a Miami Cruise Ship Accident Attorney.

The attorneys for the injured man were able to provide evidence to the court that other passengers had been similarly injured by sliding glass doors in multiple Holland America cruise ships. Faulty sensor settings on the door allegedly are what contributed to these accidents.

The Illinois man was traveling with his family on a 280-day world cruise aboard Holland America’s Pacific fleet flagship, the M/S Amsterdam. The ship was in open water, approaching Hawaii, when the man followed cruise ship employees through the sliding glass door, which automatically closed when the man was half way through, striking him in the side of the head and face. Holland America argued in court that the man had walked into the closing doors and that the doors did not close on him. The closing doors gave the man a facial contusion, concussion and chipped tooth. Despite his injuries the man was still able to finish the entire cruise journey.