Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer Blog

Three People Injured on a Cruise, Yet Nobody Knows Why

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

When there is an injury—and especially multiple injuries—from almost any cause, the media and investigators are often all over the story. The public is provided with so much information, so quickly, that some of it is often incorrect in the early stages. But when it comes to reporting on tragic cruise ship injuries and deaths, it’s amazing how little is actually disclosed, and even more amazing how little anybody says about the dearth of information that is provided by cruise lines.

Mysterious Injuries on a Cruise

Recently, on board a Holland America cruise ship, three passenger suffered injuries—one with a leg injury, one with a head injury, and the other with a heart-related emergency. The injuries were so severe, and of such an emergency basis, that the ship had to come within three miles of shore to allow rescue crews to get them.

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).

Transport On and Off a Cruise Ship Can Be Dangerous

April 10, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you have ever been on a cruise, and the ship visited ports of call, you may have noticed that in many cases, the countries you visited did not have easy transport from the ship to land. In fact, in many cases, there may not have been any access at all, but rather you may have had to board smaller ships to take you to the mainland from the ship and back again.

This is quite common. Unfortunately, a recent tragedy is highlighting what a cruise line’s duty is with respect to these transports.

Accident Happens While Getting Off Ship

Rash of Man Overboard Cases Hits Cruise Industry

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

A strange rash of cruise passengers falling overboard has struck the cruise industry lately. And while no lawsuit have been filed, the stories still highlight safety issues in the cruise industry, and problems that need to be addressed.

Laundry List of Overboard Cases

A Carnival Triumph passenger’s body was found at sea after he fell off the deck of the ship. The incident happened just off the coast of Mexico. There was surveillance video, but no word yet on why the man fell or how.

Is Terrorism the New Threat to Cruise Passengers?

February 27, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you are cruising, and you think of safety issues, you probably think about the medical facilities on board, the cleanliness of the ship, and supervision of on-board activities. You may not give much thought to terrorism. One country is warning cruise passengers to be diligent about it in the coming months.

Italy Warns of Possible Threats

The Italian Ministry of Defense has warned that ISIS may engage in piracy of cruise ships on the seas, much like the Somali pirates that were highlighted in the recent “Captain Phillips” movie, which was based on true events. It’s well known Somali piracy affects merchant and commercial vehicles, but this is the first time we’ve heard of a government agency making a warning as to a passenger vehicle.

Medical Malpractice on a Cruise Ship May Now Be a Viable Claim

January 30, 2015 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you’re on a cruise ship, and you’re injured as a result of medical malpractice, federal law which governs injuries at sea has been fairly consistent that you cannot recover damages against the cruise line as a result of the negligence.

There have been all kinds of excuses to deny recovery under a malpractice theory. One shouldn’t expect the same medical care on a ship as they do on land. Cruise ships are not floating hospitals, and shouldn’t be held to a medical malpractice standard the same way real medical facilities are. Or, the doctors on the ship are independent contractors, and thus, the cruise ship can’t be responsible for their negligence.

But a recent case now seems to be turning the law around, providing medical malpractice victims at sea a possible remedy under federal laws.

“Flags of Convenience” are a Dangerous Loophole for Cruise Passengers

December 10, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

When you take a cruise, you may or may not notice the flag flying on the top of the ship. If you look, you’ll notice the flag usually isn’t an American one. And if you listen to cruise commercials you may hear the words “ship’s registry,” followed by the name of a country. Likely, you don’t know what that means or how it affects you. But it has a huge impact on cruise safety, and there’s a good reason that you don’t see many flying under the American flag.

What is a Flag of Convenience?

The flags that fly on cruise ships that are from foreign countries are often called “flags of convenience,” because by sailing under them, ships become the territory of that nation, and thus avoid U.S. laws regulations, and taxation. A ship only has to follow the labor codes, environmental rules, and safety standards, of the nation they sail under—almost all of which have lesser and weaker standards than in the U.S.

Employees Injured at Sea Have Different Rights Than Those Injured on Land

December 3, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

We speak a lot on this blog about injuries to cruise line passengers, and injuries that happen on leisure cruise ships. But injuries can also happen to employees at sea also. Employees can be those on a large cruise line, but they may also include those working on private vessels, smaller touring ships, ferries, or fishing and work boats.

Injured workers at sea have much greater protections than workers on land, subject to state law, would have. Here’s a quick rundown of how federal law differs from state law when it comes to helping employees injured at sea get recovery for their injuries.

Recovery for Negligence

Yet Another Cruise Norovirus Outbreak Reminds Us Of Inherit Cruise Risk

November 19, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Well, it’s happened again. Although we seem to be told repeatedly by the cruise industry that norovirus outbreaks are sporadic and preventative measures are improving, in seems that once again, a cruise ship and its passengers have fallen victim to an outbreak.

Princess Cruise Suffers Large Virus Outbreak

This time it was a Princess Cruise line that experienced the outbreak. The cruise, leaving from Los Angeles, to Hawaii and then Tahiti, suffered an outbreak that affected 172 people on board. Most of the affected were passengers, but 14 crewmembers were sickened as well. The CDC, which conducted an immediate testing of the vessel, confirmed the outbreak was indeed norovirus.

New Case a Reminder How Important it is to Read Cruise Ticket

November 12, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

We’ve discussed a lot about cruise tickets, and the burdens they put on cruise passengers who are seeking to sue a cruise line for damages and injuries. A recent case has come out that has unfortunately said nothing new, again emphasizing how restrictive the terms of cruise tickets can be.

Passenger Sues in Wrong Venue

The case involved a passenger who was seeking to sue Royal Caribbean for injuries she sustained on a cruise. Her cruise ticket had a one-year statute of limitations to bring such actions, and she narrowly beat that deadline.