Attorney for Holland America Line Cruise Ship Injuries
More often than not, injuries due to negligence on cruise ships are serious, requiring compensation for economic and non-economic losses.
One of the most important steps after a cruise ship injury is preserving evidence, and our lawyers can aid with this by obtaining vital video evidence from onboard surveillance cameras. We can also quickly set up interviews with eyewitnesses, as their testimony can help confirm the accident’s cause. Our lawyers can prioritize keeping organized records throughout your case, including medical records from all hospitals and providers where you have sought treatment. As we do this, we can identify your compensable losses, including intangible damages for pain and suffering. In addition to filing your case on time, our attorneys can negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf or take it to court, where we must prove the cruise ship is more than likely liable for your injuries and damages.
Call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369 for a free and confidential case review from our attorneys for Holland America Line cruise ship injuries.
How Our Lawyers Can Help with Holland America Line Cruise Ship Accidents and Injuries
Our attorneys can help victims of cruise ship injuries with all aspects of their compensation claims, including preserving evidence from ships, contacting and interviewing witnesses, keeping organized records, identifying compensable damages, determining jurisdictions and filing deadlines, and negotiating settlements or taking claims to court.
Obtain Evidence from Cruise Ships
In the early stages of your case, our lawyers will aim to preserve evidence from the cruise ship by requesting or subpoenaing surveillance footage. Cruise ships typically have extensive surveillance systems, and footage might show the cause of a victim’s injuries. For example, if a victim fell onto a lower deck because of a poorly secured guardrail, footage might show the railing giving out and the victim falling. Preserving this type of video evidence is crucial, as cruise ships might be incentivized to delete it.
We can also help victims request and obtain any records from onboard medical staff. These records can depict your injuries immediately after an accident, helping establish the crucial link of causation, which is necessary to prove liability in any injury claim.
Contact and Interview Witnesses
After a serious Holland America Line cruise ship accident, you might have to end your trip early and immediately return home for further medical care. While you focus on your physical health and emotional well-being, our attorneys can contact eyewitnesses. To identify witnesses, we may have to review cruise ship incident reports or police reports if local law enforcement was involved. Victims who can speak to witnesses at accident sites may request their contact information and relay those details to our lawyers.
Experts may also be valuable to your case, especially in explaining complicated aspects of your injuries or anticipated physical recovery. When medical experts confirm victims are unable to return to work after sustaining permanent injuries, they may be more likely to recover life-long lost wages and compensation for the pain and suffering associated with injuries that reduce their quality of life.
Maintain Organized Records
Records relevant to your case may come from various sources, and keeping these documents organized is crucial for your claim’s success. For example, victims might have medical records from onboard physicians, records from foreign hospitals where ships were docked during incidents, and records from hospitals and specialists after returning home. We can help you locate and obtain all medical records throughout your treatment, which will also let us track your medical damages.
We can also obtain any incident reports from the cruise ship or local law enforcement and review them to learn additional details about the incident, involved parties, witnesses, or contributing causes.
Identify Compensable Losses
Victims who suffer injuries on cruises incur many losses. Initially, they may need emergency medical treatment, and some victims even need to be medically evacuated by air to a nearby hospital with the appropriate resources. Any costs associated with you needing to leave the cruise ship early and travel home because of an accident should be covered in your claim.
In addition to these losses, the cruise ship company may be liable for the cost of all hospital or doctor visits, surgeries, prescription medication, physical therapy, mobility accommodation devices, or other rehabilitative treatments or equipment. If you miss time from work and suffer lost wages because of an accident, our lawyers will also seek compensation for those damages.
Victims may also get non-economic damages for cruise ship injuries, and our attorneys for Holland America Line cruise ship injuries can help prove pain and suffering with statements from mental health experts and victims’ personal testimonies.
Determine the Jurisdiction and Filing Deadline
Even if you are injured at sea, Holland America Line can and does stipulate where victims must file lawsuits. Most often, passengers must bring injury claims where cruise ship companies are headquartered and, regarding claims against Holland America Line, that is Seattle. In addition to confirming the jurisdiction for your lawsuit, you must be aware of the short filing deadline for maritime injury claims, which is one year. Victims may also have to file a notice of a claim within six months, which our lawyers can ensure happens on time.
Negotiate Settlements or Prove Liability
Injury claims involving negligent cruise ship companies may go to court but often settle without the need for trial. When considering settlement offers, our lawyers can compare them to our accurate calculations of your losses. Remembering your non-economic damages during settlement negotiations is important, especially when assessing seemingly large lump sum offers. Preparing for the possibility of a trial is important so that we have sufficient evidence to leverage during settlement conversations and can meet the burden of proof during a trial if going to court is necessary for you to recover the appropriate damages.
Call Our Lawyers to Discuss Your Cruise Ship Injury Case Today
Call the attorneys for Holland America Line cruise ship injuries at Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369 for help with your case today.
