Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer Blog

Cruise Ship Employees Are Entitled To Compensation For Workplace Injuries

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

Our Florida cruise ship accident attorneys use this blog to discuss the rights of cruise ship passengers in the event they are injured by the acts or omissions of the cruise ship industry and its employees.

But what happens when one of those employees becomes injured due to the negligence of a cruise company? Working as a crew member aboard a cruise ship can be a particularly risk job, as cruise crew are consistently exposed to dangerous situations and conditions that can cause serious injury, illness, or death.

In 1920, Congress adopted Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act, referred to as the “Jones Act”, as a means of protecting the rights of crew members and maritime workers that fall under the legal definition of “seamen.” The Jones Act allows a seaman, that is injured as the result of the negligence of an employer or co-worker in the course of his or employment on a vessel, to recover for those injuries.

Another Cruise Ship Passenger Victim of Alleged Medical Negligence

January 22, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last month, this blog discussed a particularly troubling decision out of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals, wherein the Court found that a cruise ship doctor was not subject to its jurisdiction because the Plaintiff failed to show that the doctor had the “substantial, continuous, and systematic business contacts” necessary for the Court to exercise jurisdiction over him.

Last week, our Florida cruise ship accident attorneys read through another incident involving the death of a 72-year-old passenger aboard Carnival’s Sun Princess ship raised allegations of potential medical negligence, and led the Attorney General of Queensland, Australia, to order an investigation into the death.

Cruise passenger Betty Virgo was sailing from Brisbane to New Zealand in November of 2012 when she became ill at dinner on the fifth day of the voyage. Betty Virgo’s daughter, Gayle, who was sailing with her, claimed that the ship’s medical staff refused to allow Betty to stay in the medical bay for observation overnight. Gayle remained with Betty the next day as her condition worsened. When Betty’s breathing became labored, she was taken to the ship’s medical center and died that evening. The ship physician diagnosed “angina” as Betty’s cause of death.

Government Accountability Office Report Calls Into Question Cruise Industry’s Compliance With Cruise Vessel Security And Safety Act

January 21, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

In July of 2010, Congress passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (“CVSSA), legislation designed to improve the security and safety of passengers aboard cruise ships carrying more than 250 passengers on a voyage embarking or disembarking from any U.S. ports. Adoption of the CVSSA was spurred by findings by Congress that “passengers on cruise vessels have an inadequate appreciation of their potential vulnerability to crime while on ocean voyages, and…lack the information they need to understand their legal rights or to know whom to contact for help in the immediate aftermath of the crime.” Our Florida cruise ship accident attorneys have been viewing the details of this closely.

In order to achieve its goals, the CVSSA required cruise lines to adopt a number of safety measures, including security peepholes on passenger cabin doors, security cameras, higher guardrails, and the distribution of safety information to passengers.

Despite these requirements, it would appear that, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), the cruise industry is largely ignoring four important requirements of the CVSSA:

CDC Declares Gastrointestinal Outbreak Aboard Norwegian Cruise Line Ship

January 9, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued a cruise ship illness outbreak alert for the Norwegian Gem, an over 3,600-passenger capacity ship in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. According to the alert, during a November 13-25, 2013, voyage, 111 passengers and 3 crew members (4.55% of the total number of people onboard) reported being ill with symptoms of vomiting and/or diarrhea. The cause of the outbreak is unknown, but our Florida maritime accident attorneys are waiting with anticipation for a discovery.

The report states that Norwegian Cruise Line responded to the outbreak by increasing the ship’s cleaning and disinfecting procedures and collecting specimens from ill passengers and crew for testing at the CDC’s National Calicivirus Laboratory. According to the CDC, Vessel Sanitation Program officers are monitoring the outbreak, which will continue into the ship’s subsequent voyage.

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (“VSP”) is designed to assist the cruise ship industry in preventing and controlling introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses, i.e. food poisoning, on cruise ships. Despite the CDC’s best efforts, however, health violations are common occurrences on many cruise ships. Improper storage, handling, and preparation of food onboard cruise ships is dangerous and can easily result in the spread of gastrointestinal illness. Gastrointestinal illnesses can cause vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, dehydration, and, in very serious cases, death.

Man Dies After Falling Overboard Royal Caribbean Ship

January 8, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Earlier this week, the Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian news outlet, reported that the body of a man who had fallen overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas on December 21st had been recovered, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The ship was sailing towards Noumea, New Caledonia, approximately 550 kilometers east of Brisbane when the unidentified man went overboard. Our Florida maritime accident lawyers have been covering this news extensively, and can provide legal advice to anyone that may find themselves in an accident related to time spend on a cruise.

An alarm was raised around 1 AM Queensland time after another passenger witnessed the man fall. According to reports, the ship’s crew threw life preservers and smoke markers into the water, and even launched rescue boats, but, however, they could not locate the man. New Caledonian Law Enforcement Services will be investigating the death.

This incident is just another in a long line of unfortunate man overboard accidents which have plagued the cruise industry the last couple years. Last year, 30-year-old South Floridian Sarah Kirby fell overboard from the Carnival Destiny as it sailed from Miami to Jamaica. Kirby fell 100 feet to the water, striking a lifeboat on the way down. Kirby then spent the next two hours floating in the ocean at night, injured and struggling to stay afloat. Kirby’s story ended much more fortunately than many others.

Carnival Cruise Lines Under Fire For Claims That It Knowingly Risked Passenger Safety On Infamous Triumph Cruise

January 7, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

According to two recent reports ready by our Florida cruise ship accident attorneys from both CNN and the Associated Press, Carnival knew that its now infamous Triumph ship posed a substantial risk of fire due to delays in the maintenance of its diesel engines and fuel lines, but allowed the ship to set sail anyway. More than 4,000 passengers and crew members became stranded aboard the Triumph in February of 2013 after a fire knocked out the ship’s power. The ship drifted for four days without air conditioning, and only had limited lights, water, food and working toilets, before it was towed to Mobile, Alabama.

According to the AP article, Triumph’s captain, Angelo Los, admitted in a November 22nd, 2013, deposition that he had been notified by Carnival that there had been problems with the ships flexible fuel hoses leaking. Los stated that he believed Carnival had known about the leaks since March of 2012. When confronted with a “compliance notice report” dated January 2nd, 2013, that recommended that spray shields be installed on engines’ flexible fuel hoses, Los confesses that the suggested spray guards were only a makeshift measure to deal with leaking fuel lines and had not even been installed on the engine that caught fire.

In response to the allegations that it was aware of the Triumph’s safety issues, Carnival stated, “The leak in the flexible fuel hose was a completely unexpected accident that took place. What ignited the fuel is unknown.” Carnival referred to the spray guards as the “best practice to avoid fires.” Carnival also claimed that the compliance notice only referenced fuel lines above the engine room floor, whereas the leak that disabled the Triumph occurred on a fuel hose beneath the engine room floor.

6 Year Old Boy Drowns On Carnival Cruise Mega Ship

January 6, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last month, our Florida cruise ship accident attorneys discussed some of the negative aspects of the ever-increasing size of cruise ships, including the fact that such megaships, by their very nature, have many more areas in which a passenger can become injured. As mentioned in that post, with more entertainment venues comes a greater risk of injury to passengers, especially when cruises feature options such as on-board surfing and giant waterslides. Some ships have several gigantic pools that too often go unsupervised by lifeguards.

One of the megaships that features such water entertainment options is the Carnival ship Victory, which is 893 feet long and has a capacity for 3,400 passengers and 1,000 crew members. The Victory has three large pools, all that include whirlpools, and a 214-foot-long waterslide. With such a massive amount of space to be supervised, it is no surprise that tragedy struck the Victory when 6-year-old Qwentyn Hunter of Winter Garden, Florida, drowned in one of the pools aboard the ship where no life guards were on duty.

According to a recent CNN story, Hunter was spotted underwater in a mid-ship pool by passengers as the ship was completing the final leg of a four-day journey. A ship DJ saw Hunter struggling in the water and another passenger guest then jumped into the pool to pull the boy out. A crew member attempted to revive the unconscious boy, but was unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Teen To Sue Carnival Cruise For Alleged Assault By Security Guard

December 16, 2013 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last month, South Florida news outlet WSVN reported that a teenage boy had decided to file a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise lines, alleging that the boy had been beaten by a security guard while aboard the Carnival Imagination in June. Our Florida cruise ship attorneys have been following this case closely.

According to the teen, who was fourteen at the time of the incident, he tried sneak into the ship’s nightclub, but was spotted and ran out by the security guard. The teen alleges that the guard chased him into a nearby stairwell, where the guard grabbed him and slammed him into a wall. The teen claims the security guard let go when two passengers began taking photos and intervened. The guard then escorted the teen to his parents’ cabin. The boy’s family alleges that he suffered a bulging disk in his neck as a result of the assault and is now under the care of a neurologist and psychologist. The family maintains that they intend on filing a lawsuit and are calling for the security guard to be fired so as to prevent a similar incident from happening to other passengers.

As this blog has discussed before, preventing and controlling crime on board ships is one of the biggest problems that the cruise ship industry faces. Every year, dozens of cruise ship passengers fall victim to physical and sexual assaults onboard cruise ships at the hands of crew members and other passengers.

Cruise Ship Passenger Victim of Alleged Medical Malpractice

December 8, 2013 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Earlier this week, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal issued a decision in the case of Taylor v. Gutierrez, which demonstrates the intersection of the maritime and medical malpractice fields of law. Our experienced Florida cruise ship attorneys have been monitoring the case closely as it pans out.

In Taylor, the plaintiff, Hilda Gutierrez, was a passenger on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas cruise ship in May 2010, which sailed from Port Everglades, Florida through the Western Caribbean. At some point during the cruise, Gutierrez began experiencing severe abdominal pain and was taken to the ship’s medical facility. The ship’s physician, Dr. Chris Taylor, diagnosed Gutierrez with gastritis when she was actually suffering from an abdominal infection.

Gutierrez’s condition became worse and, upon reaching port in Mexico, she went to a hospital where she underwent abdominal surgery. Gutierrez was treated for abdominal sepsis and multiple organ failures and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

Cruise Ship Collision With Pier In Greece Highlights Need For Increased Passenger Safety

November 22, 2013 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Earlier this week, the cruise ship industry suffered yet another disturbing incident when MSC Cruises’ Magnifica ship, transporting 2,469 passengers and 976 crew members, allided with a pier in Piräus, Greece. Alliding is a term often used in nautical contexts to describe an impact with a stationary object. The Magnifica suffered minor damage to its hull, although there were no immediate reports of injuries to the passengers or crew. According to reports, the ship was blown into the pier by strong winds while it was being berthed.

Although the initial reports indicate that the cause of the incident was inclement weather, further investigation might reveal that there’s more to the story. Unfortunately, as this blog has discussed recently, the cruise ship industry is not always forthcoming with negative information regarding its safety record. In fact, docking and berthing incidents are more common than expected with a number of serious accidents having occurred in recent years.

Perhaps the most memorable, and tragic, of these incidents was the sinking of the Carnival cruise ship Costa Concordia, which crashed into the rocks off the coast of Giglio Island, Italy, resulting in the deaths of thirty two individuals and injuries to dozens of others. Carnival and ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, took heavy criticism for the botched evacuation efforts, which suffered from significant delays, allegations of bribery, and the captain’s early abandonment of the ship.