Disney Cruise Ship Injury + Accident Attorney
Trips with Disney Cruise should be magical for everyone, whether you go as a family or with friends or significant others. However, any cruise carries the risk of accidents and problems on board that could lead to serious injuries and illness that could ruin your vacation – and possibly affect you for the rest of your life.
The most impactful damages from cruise ship injuries are typically medical expenses, which may be fully compensable. In addition to hospital costs, victims might incur temporary or long-term lost wages because an accident affected their earning capacity. To get the compensation you need, report the accident and your injuries to the cruise ship as soon as possible. Get medical care from onboard staff and then from other physicians once you leave the ship. Do not delay initiating your case; you may only have one year after the accident to file a lawsuit and get compensatory damages. Victims may recover damages via fair settlements or by proving a cruise ship’s negligence in court.
For a free case review from our Disney Cruise injury and accident lawyers, call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. today at (305) 204-5369.
Damages for Cruise Ship Injuries Sustained on Disney Cruises
The damages you suffer from cruise ship injuries will vary based on how the injury specifically affected you. In many cases, the harms victims face will be limited to illness or temporary injuries, but this may still mean incurring medical expenses and missing time at work because of the injuries. In more severe cases, victims could face permanent injuries or disabilities that affect them into the future, causing substantial missed work and ongoing medical care. In any case, you will likely face pain and suffering, which you can also seek compensation for
Medical Expenses
Your damages from medical expenses will depend on the care you received because of the injury. If someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, you should be compensated in full for any medical bills stemming from that accident. This should include coverage for treatment aboard the ship, medivac to shore, treatment at a hospital, and ongoing care once you return home, such as rehabilitation and physical therapy. Our attorneys will keep track of all expenses and treatments to ensure all medical bills are covered in your case.
Lost Wages
If your injury causes you to miss work, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages. If your recovery takes longer than your planned vacation, you may miss work during your recovery. This should entitle you to compensation for the wages missed during that period. If the injury causes ongoing missed work, causes you to take a lower-paying job, or requires you to stop working because of permanent disabilities, you may be entitled to ongoing damages for diminished earning capacity. This is common in accidents involving traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries.
When it comes to your specific lost wages, our attorneys will need certain documents and records, such as tax returns, pay stubs, and employment confirmation from your employer, to calculate them.
Non-Economic Damages
Any time you are injured or made sick by negligent conditions or avoidable dangers, you may be entitled to damages for pain and suffering. This can pay for the mental and physical effects of the injury as well as other intangible effects.
Proving pain and suffering requires different tactics than proving economic damages, and our Disney Cruise injury and accident lawyers can involve mental health experts in your case to testify about your intangible damages.
Reporting and Documenting Disney Cruise Ship Injuries
Immediately after an accident, whether an onboard assault, slip and fall, or other incident, victims should report it to cruise ship staff. They should also go to onboard physicians for medical evaluation and seek additional care when they leave the ship.
Cruises have different procedures for handling different accidents. For example, if a passenger falls overboard, the ship must mark the location of the fall, immediately initiate search and rescue operations, and inform the appropriate authorities, like the FBI, if the passenger is an American citizen. This is part of a cruise ship’s duty of care to passengers, and failing to meet it could lead to a passenger’s death or disappearance.
For other incidents, like slip and falls on decks or physical assaults, victims can report directly to cruise ship staff. If you make a written report, request a copy for our records. Our Disney Cruise injury and accident lawyers can help you obtain incident reports after the fact, as well as medical records from onboard medical staff.
Cruises need physicians aboard for passengers’ safety and well-being, though it is important to keep in mind that the Disney Cruise Line employs these individuals. Because of that, you should seek further care from other physicians to confirm your injuries and generate additional medical evidence we can use to prove your case.
Suing a Disney Cruise Line for Injuries
Disney Cruise Line is based in Celebration, Florida, and offers cruises in Alaska, the Caribbean, and other areas of the world. Although these cruises often operate in international waters, the laws governing these ships and the accidents on board are usually American maritime law. Maritime and admiralty law is the field of law dealing with ships and shipping, and our attorneys handle maritime injury and cruise ship injury cases on behalf of clients injured in these kinds of accidents.
Since Disney Cruise Line is headquartered in Florida, victims must bring claims there, as cruises can stipulate jurisdiction in passenger tickets. This could create some hurdles for victims, especially if they do not live in Florida, and our lawyers can help them navigate these situations so that they do not lose their chance to get compensation.
Furthermore, victims must be aware of the shortened filing timeline for these claims. Because cruise ship accident claims are governed by maritime law, victims typically have just one year to file lawsuits. Before they file an official complaint in court, they might have to give notice of a claim to the cruise ship company within six months of the accident.
Proving Negligence in Accident and Injury Claims Against Disney Cruise
When you sue for injuries on a cruise, you must prove that the cruise line and the ship’s staff or crew are responsible for your injuries. Typically, this is done by showing “negligence,” that is, by showing that the crew did not use the proper care or skill to keep you safe.
For example, kitchens and restaurants on the ship could be responsible for allowing food to be tainted, leading to food poisoning or norovirus. Security staff could be responsible for failing to stop or prevent crimes like assault and sexual assault, either committed by other passengers or by other employees. Maintenance and custodial staff could be responsible for failing to clean up spills, debris, or tripping hazards on walkways or stairs that cause you to slip and fall or trip and fall. Lifeguards and safety crew could be responsible for failing to prevent drowning or injuries in a pool – or failing to respond promptly to emergencies. Medical staff in the ship’s infirmary could be responsible for failing to diagnose a serious illness that needs emergency medical evacuation.
The cruise line could be responsible for taking a tour or shore excursion out in bad weather, which could lead to injuries or accidents with smaller boats or planes.
Other injuries sustained aboard a cruise ship could also be the company’s fault. In addition, if you were injured and received negligent care, suffered worsened injuries because of delayed medical transportation, or did not receive first aid and emergency care on the ship, you might be entitled to sue the ship and cruise line for failing to help you.
Talk to our lawyers about proving what your injuries are worth and getting the compensation you need. We can advise you on how to file your injury lawsuit, where to file your case, what your damages should be worth, and whether a settlement offer is too low to cover your needs.
Negotiating Settlements for Disney Cruise Ship Accidents and Injuries
Cruise ship injuries are often expensive, resulting in costly medical care, harmful lost wages, and considerable pain and suffering. When negotiating settlements, our lawyers can remain truthful to your total damages, refusing to accept unfair settlements that do not fully compensate you.
Cruise ship companies might initially offer seemingly large lump sum settlements. These one-time payments might appear sizeable at first, but our lawyers will break them down to ensure they cover all current and future damages. Once you accept and sign a settlement agreement, your case ends, so agreeing to a low offer could leave you without enough compensation from the cruise ship.
Cruise ship companies might have a wide array of defense attorneys ready to handle injury claims, and victims need support in their corners to hold these companies accountable for their negligence. We can respond to offers with counters, supported by proof of damages and negligence, to convince the opposing side to increase their offers without going to court, saving everyone involved in the case time and resources. Going to court may bode well for victims, and indicating you are ready for a trial and done with settlement negotiations could lead to a better settlement offer from the defense.
Call Our Disney Cruise Injury Attorneys for Help with Your Case
For a free case assessment from our Disney Cruise injury and accident lawyers, call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. today at (305) 204-5369.
