cruise ship accident and personal injury lawyer

Sexual Assault on Miami Cruise Ship Vacations: Facts Victims Need to Know

June 20, 2021 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Sexual assault is a serious problem in Miami and throughout the US, but you never expect such a tragic offense to affect your cruise vacation. Unfortunately, statistics from the US Department of Transportation reveal that rape, sexual battery, molestation, and related crimes are not just confined to land. According to a publication on Cruise Line Incident Reports, there are approximately 100 reports of sexual assault every year worldwide on cruises operated by some of the biggest, most reputable operators. Not only is your trip of a lifetime horrifically damaged, but you could experience long-term physical and emotional consequences.

If you or a loved one suffered sexual assault on a cruise vacation, you should make it a priority get in touch with a Miami cruise ship attorney right away to discuss your options. It may also be helpful to review a few facts about the legal process.

Issues with reporting paint a distorted view of sexual assault on cruises. On the one hand, victims are often reluctant to notify crew about these incidents; however, the cruise lines themselves are not always truthful about sexual assault to avoid a PR catastrophe. Because they are “flagged” in countries other than the US, particularly the Bahamas, Jamaica, and other Caribbean nations, they are not subject to our laws that require reporting. Together, these factors make it difficult to assess the risk of sexual assault on cruises.

Cruise Ship Parasailing Accidents: Causes and Statistics

April 23, 2021 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Shore excursions are a fundamental part of cruise enjoyment, and many adventure-seekers will schedule extreme sports and other activities well in advance of their departure. One of the most popular water-based escapades is parasailing, an exciting ride that takes you as high as 300 feet in the air as you float on the breeze behind a power boat. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that an estimated 3 to 5 million people go parasailing every year, and the experience is exhilarating for the majority of them.

However, numerous parasailing accidents have been reported in recent years, causing serious injury and death. These tragedies are concerning to US officials, who cite a complete lack of federal regulation as posing a serious safety risk. It is even more disturbing to note that any proposed laws would not apply to many parasailing operators, since they offer their adventures through cruise companies at foreign ports-of-call. Such factors make parasailing injury claims complicated, so it is wise to retain an experienced Miami cruise ship accident lawyer for assistance with your case. You should also be aware of some additional statistics and causes of parasailing accidents on cruises.

Causes of Parasailing Accidents on Cruise Ship Excursions

Top Cruise Ship Accidents From Pools, Slides, and Other Water-Based Activities

March 22, 2021 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Regardless of which cruise line you choose, the length of your trip, or the size of the cruise liner, water-based recreation is a top attraction for cruise vacations. Children and adults alike enjoy the pools, hot tubs, waterslides, wave pools, and other features onboard; many shore excursions involve snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, skiing, parasailing, and many other activities. Still, all this fun does not come without risks. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), an estimated 320,000 people drown every year, making drowning the third most common cause of unintentional fatalities worldwide.

Though not all fatalities occur on cruises, the statistics should be disturbing for a key reason: When water attractions are the source of death and injury on land, you can expect that the frequency of accidents carries over to cruise ships and their numerous water attractions. If you or a loved one was hurt, time is of the essence to reach out to a Miami cruise ship accident lawyer. You can also protect your family when you know the top cruise ship accidents linked to water-based fun.

Drowning: With so many attractions onboard, it is no surprise that the third-leading cause of accidental death is a risk when cruising. Even when lifeguards are present, drowning can happen in less than a minute. Plus, if you suffer a head injury in a wave pool or while engaging in strenuous water activities, even the best swimmer may be unable to recover.

73-Year-Old Man Goes Overboard Cruise Ship, Pronounced Dead

July 16, 2018 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

A passenger on the Seven Seas Mariner was reported overboard early morning on July 10. The 73-year-old man and his wife were on a 11-day Alaska cruise, which began in Vancouver. The vessel was on its way to Victoria, British Columbia, and just north of Neah Bay and Cape Flattery in Washington when cruise ship employers were made aware of the overboard passenger. Why the elderly man went overboard is yet unknown, though the cruise ship informed the Coast Guard that there is video of the man falling or jumping from an eight-deck balcony at 4:15 a.m. The passenger’s wife reported waking up around 4:30 a.m. to a breeze coming from the open balcony door, and at the time, there was no sign of her husband.

The ship contacted the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Command Center around 4:30 a.m. to report the passenger missing. The coast sent out two search helicopters and three rescue boats. They located the man the afternoon of June 10^th, and he was unresponsive. He was flown to an Emergency Medical Service crew on shore and them to the Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. If your loved one recently went overboard a cruise ship, do not hesitate to speak with an attorney. Our cruise ship accident lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz P.A. offer free consultations. Call us at (877) 475-2905.

The Seven Seas Mariner

NTSB Says Human Error Caused Cruise Ship Crash in Baltimore

March 13, 2017 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Last year, passengers on a Carnival Cruise ship were horrified as their vessel crashed into a pier at a harbor in Baltimore. After returning from a weeklong trip to Florida and the Bahamas, the cruise ship approached the pier while traveling too fast, and was unable to avoid a collision. Luckily, no one was injured, but the incident raised questions about cruise ship safety. After a lengthy investigation into the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board has finally released its report on the episode.

Incident like these are not uncommon. If you were injured on a Carnival Cruise ship or any other type of cruise ship, our South Florida cruise ship accident attorneys can help.

Investigators Blame Ship Captains for Cruise Ship Accident

When Cruise Ship Electricity Poses a Serious Threat

August 19, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Cruise ships can sometimes encounter unexpected situations, some of which may increase the risk for personal injury among passengers and crew. Power loss is one example. One cruise ship, the Princess Caribbean, had recently experienced both electrical as well as engine issues. These issues can undermine a cruise ship’s need to take care of their guests and make them feel safe during their stay.

Cruise Line Loses Power on the Sea

The loss of power on a cruise ship can be sudden and can cause passengers to lose balance and injure themselves. According to several passengers aboard the Caribbean Princess as it journeyed off the Irish coast, the cruise ship lost power without any warning. Many passengers took to Twitter to vent their frustration, tagging the cruise line as a means of notifying them of the issue. Subsequently, Princess Cruises acknowledged the power loss on Twitter.

Being Threatened with Rape: A Psychological Personal Injury

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

Cruise lines are in the business of making their guests feel safe, at ease, and protected. As many attorneys know (particularly attorneys experienced with maritime law), this is not always the case. A recent news report has shown that one cruise line failed to keep one of its passengers safe from its own employee. This passenger not only received threats by an employee, she also achieved very little headway with convincing local authorities of her plight.

Bahamas Cruise Line Passenger Threatened by Employee

A bachelorette party should be a joyous occasion, one filled with friends, excitement, and memory-making experiences. Unfortunately, this was not the case for one woman who went to celebrate her last few days of singlehood on the Bahamas Paradise Cruise. According to the report, a crew member threatened the woman with rape on numerous occasions. When she slammed the door in his face, he repeated the threats. After a period of a few minutes, the employee disappeared from outside her door.

Cruise Ship Swimming Pools and the Possibility of Harm

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

Are you contemplating embarking on a cruise ship vacation? Be aware that accidents on cruise ships seem to happen with regularity. Often times the accident may be life threatening or even fatal. A common type of accident on cruise ships is drowning. Even though this is a common tragedy, cruise ships fail to hire lifeguards to monitor cruise ship swimming areas. As a matter of fact, the only cruise line that hires lifeguards is the Disney Cruise line.

Just recently, a 4-year-old child almost drowned in a cruise ship wave pool. He was a passenger of the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. The cruise ship had just departed from Port Everglades, when unbeknownst to his mother, the boy entered the wave pool. The young child was then “swept away.” It was reported that he was below water for over six minutes. Another passenger spotted the drowning child. This accident prompted the ship to return to Port Everglades. The young child, in critical condition, was rushed to a nearby hospital. This accident prompted additional demands for lifeguards on all cruise ships. This demand is echoed by Andrew Coggins, a cruise industry expert. Mr. Coggins maintains that all cruise lines should have lifeguards and all cruise lines should require children wear flotation vests when near the pools.

If you or your loved one were injured on a cruise ship, it is imperative that you hire an experienced attorney. The Miami maritime lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA have the experience and skill need to aggressively take on your case. Contact our attorneys today at 305-371-6000 or via email at info@gslawusa.com to schedule a FREE consultation.

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

Gastrointestinal Disease Strikes Royal Caribbean Cruise Out Of Baltimore

April 14, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Saturday, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Grandeur of the Seas returned to Baltimore from a seven day journey during which a number of passengers suffered from a gastrointestinal illness causing symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) officially issued a cruise ship illness outbreak alert for the ship, on which 111 of 2122 (5.23%) passengers, and 6 of 790 (0.76%) crew, reported falling ill with symptoms of vomiting and/or diarrhea. The CDC still has not officially announced the cause of the illness, but our Florida maritime accident attorneys are waiting with anticipation for a discovery.

According to the Outbreak Alert, Royal Caribbean took the following action to deal with the outbreak: