CRUISE SHIP INJURY CASE: IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW

www.888BoatLaw.com, a 25-year Florida law firm specializing in cruise ship injury cases.

• Most cruise ship injury cases have a 1-year statute of limitations.
• Most cruise lines require you to provide written notice of your cruise ship injury claim within six months of the incident. (Check your ticket. That is the contract between you and the cruise line.)
• The overwhelming majority of cruise injury cases have to be filed in Miami, and in federal court.
• Some cruise lines require you to file a claim outside of the U.S. (Check your ticket.)
• Cruise lines are not required to give you a copy of their incident report, and typically refuse to do so. (Security typically refers you to Guest Services, who will stall you.)
• Cruise lines are not required to give you a copy of any video of your incident unless you file suit against them.
• Cruise lines operate on a “we had no notice of any dangerous condition” viewpoint when a passenger is injured.
• When an injury incident occurs on a cruise ship, the security officers immediately begin documenting the situation to prove the cruise line had no fault.
• When an injury incident occurs on a cruise ship and the passenger goes to the infirmary, the ship’s doctor has been chosen by the cruise line and will place statements favorable to the cruise line in the passenger’s records. Many times wanting to take your blood alcohol content for no medical
• When an injury incident occurs on a cruise ship, the ship’s Security officer will insist that a passenger complete a “Guest Injury Statement” (or similar named form) which has a section suggesting fault for the incident on anyone other than the vessel. (i.e., on another passenger, on no one at all, or I (the injured passenger) was at fault, but not as to the cruise line.) One of these Guest Injury Statement forms asks the injured passenger to admit: “What could I have done to prevent the incident?” The cruise line has no question asking: “What could the cruise line have done to prevent the incident?”
• If you are injured on a cruise ship, the cruise ship will keep track of your movements on the vessel, your getting off/on the vessel, that you attended any excursion, will track your alcohol purchases, and retain video of you to use against you. Security may record your conversations with them without informing you they are recording you. Ask them.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF WHEN YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED A CRUISE SHIP INJURY

• Document immediately with photos and video the location and conditions of the incident-causing mechanism. (Spill, equipment failure, employee mistake, tripping hazard, gangway issue, tender boat mishap, etc.)
• Obtain the name of witnesses (passengers and employees) to the incident. Don’t count on the cruise line to do this!
• Get a copy of your medical records from the infirmary.
• If you sign a Guest Injury Statement form, get a copy.
• At the location of your injury, note whether there are video cameras in that area. Give a written request to ship’s Security for that video: 1 hour before and 1 hour after the incident be saved.
• If your injury requires it, follow up with the infirmary, and get those medical records too.

CAUTION: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU PURSUE YOUR CRUISE SHIP INJURY CLAIM WITHOUT DELAY

• Contact a maritime law attorney who specializes in cruise ship injury cases. Not an auto accident attorney; it’s not the same law.
• A notification letter needs to go out to the cruise line as soon as possible after a passenger is injured on a cruise ship to preserve all video, all equipment, names of witnesses, employees, etc.
• The statute of limitations is short. Your required written notice period is even shorter.
• Unless your attorney is licensed to practice in Florida, you are wasting your time. The cruise lines know the vast majority of cruise ship injury cases must be filed in Florida, and they can easily determine whether the attorney you hire is licensed in Florida.

At www.888BoatLaw.com we are a 25-year Florida law firm specializing in cruise ship injury cases. This is not a sideline. This is what we do every day, we represent injured cruise ship passengers against the cruise lines. We know the unique laws that apply to cruise ship injury cases.  We do not represent cruise lines. We only represent injured cruise ship passengers.  Do not leave your important cruise ship injury case to an auto accident attorney or an out-of-state attorney. We are working on cruise ship injury cases right now. (You can check our law firm’s reviews from clients if you Google “Frank D. Butler, PA.”)

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