CRUISE
SHIP
We
represent clients from cruise ships,
both as tourists, persons injured on tours, and employees working
for various cruise ship companies. If you have been injured on a cruise
ship, either as a tourist / cruise passenger or as an employee working
aboard a cruise vessel, we may be able to assist you.
Cruise Ship Employee
If you work aboard a cruise ship, chances are you are
a Jones Act / general maritime law seaman entitled to benefits under
Federal law. If so, you may have a right to recover for all of your
losses, including wage loss, both during the period of disability
and future wage loss if you are unable to return to your original
employment; for pain and suffering as a result of injury; for costs
of retraining; for the wages to the end of your contract, even if
you had to leave the vessel before your contract was completed; for
all of your medical expenses and treatment needs; for a living expense,
"maintenance," payable while you are recovering.
Most cruise ship employees, especially
those living and working aboard the vessel, will be found by the courts
to be Jones Act / general maritime law seamen. Many cruise ship operators
are either based in Seattle or have sufficient enough business ties
to Seattle to make filing a claim in the Federal District Court for
the Western District of Washington appropriate. In this regard, most
cruise ship employees, regardless of licensure by the Coast Guard,
if any, may qualify as seamen, with the same entitlements regarding
a claim against the vessel owner / employer as a licensed mariner.
And, in general, an injured worker may have up to three years in which
to bring a claim, although delay is not to be encouraged.
Often, persons injured while working aboard a cruise ship are not
fully aware of their rights and, often, persons involved in adjusting
the claim, dealing with medical matters and arranging for limited
amounts of compensation are either unaware of the injured person's
rights or, if aware, do not fully communicate the extent of those
rights to the injured individual. Here, a no-cost,
initial consultation may lead to a quick "education"
on the rights of the injured individual, and the ins and outs of claims
practices.
Sometimes, workers are misled about their entitlements
and are led to believe their rights are limited to State workers compensation
programs. A State workers compensation benefit program may not be
appropriate and, as a matter of law, may not apply. Nonetheless, because
the injured worker is presented with "workers comp" forms,
a false sense of security may arise and a false sense that a worker's
rights are limited to State workers comp programs benefits.
If you have been injured working aboard a cruise
ship, it is recommended you consult competent legal counsel
to learn what your rights are. Reliance upon a claims agent or other
individual who may not be fully informed may result in the loss of
significant entitlements.
Cruise Ship Passenger
If you have been injured as a passenger aboard a cruise
ship, you may have significant legal rights. You may also be at significant
risk for loss of those rights if you do not act in a timely fashion.
This sometimes can mean having to pursue and file a claim within as
little as six months.
Cruise ship operators owe a duty of care to
passengers. This duty of care requires that the vessel and
its common areas open to use by passengers be kept reasonably safe.
In most circumstances, this requires the cruise ship operator to inspect
to make sure the vessel is safe, including all areas where passengers
are likely to go or be found.
Cruise ship operators are also known to intently monitor passengers
while aboard ship. For example, it is not uncommon for a cruise ship
operator to keep careful track of how much alcohol a passenger has
consumed while aboard the vessel. In our experience, often a cruise
ship operator will defend a claim by making a counter claim to the
effect that the passenger either over-consumed or was under the influence
of alcohol as of the time and place of injury, and that this contributed
to or caused the injury. Notes are often kept on passengers and their
activities while aboard the vessel.
Many cruise ship operators also take
maximum advantage of the law to limit their liability as much as possible,
and to require the most prompt action on the part of an injured passenger
in the event of an injury. Commonly, cruise ship operators will include
provisions on the back of a cruise ticket requiring a person filing
suit do so out of the area, for example, in Florida, and within short
periods of time, for example, within six months of injury. Sometimes,
the courts will uphold these provisions and, in our experience, some
passengers have lost cases because of failure to act promptly.
The safest way to proceed in the event of injury
is to immediately contact competent legal counsel to learn
your rights. Caution should also be taken with respect to filling
out forms or giving statements, which sometimes can be coaxed from
an injured passenger at an inopportune time, and may not be complete
or correct regarding the incident. Unfortunately, statements are sometimes
coached from passengers when the passenger is least able to concentrate
on the facts and circumstances of the injury.
In the event of a potential claim, it
is always a good idea, for your own purposes, to document the area
where the injury occurred, cause of injury, and witnesses.
In appropriate circumstances, we will promptly investigate a passenger
injury and take measures to preserve and protect a passenger's claim.
A no-obligation initial consultation is often enough to determine
whether a claim appears appropriate. However, an initial consultation
is not agreement for representation. Please see our Disclaimer
page, this Website.
Call us for a no-obligation initial telephone consultation.
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We answer every e-mail personally within 6 hours
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