Can You Sue P&O Cruises for Injury?
Getting injured on a cruise will ruin any vacation and may have long-lasting consequences for victims, which they can address by filing lawsuits against negligent cruise ship companies.
Like any cruise line, P&O Cruises owes you a duty of care as a passenger. This extends to keeping the ship free from hazardous conditions, having proper security on board and when docked at ports, and ensuring crew act appropriately and do not harm passengers. Injuries that result from a breach of duty are compensable, and our lawyers can confirm if you have a case right away. When victims successfully sue P&O Cruises for injuries, they may get compensation for all damages from an accident. This includes their hospital expenses, missed income, and emotional distress they experienced because of their injuries.
For a free and confidential case assessment from Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, call our cruise ship accident and injury lawyers today at (305) 204-5369.
What Types of Injuries Can You Sue P&O Cruises For?
Victims may file compensation claims against P&O Cruises for any injuries caused by the company’s breach of duty of care. This includes accidental injuries due to negligence and injuries from intentional assaults by crew members or others.
Injuries Due to Intentional Assaults
Unfortunately, intentional assaults are some of the most common causes of injury on cruises. P&O cruise ships may travel all over the world, docking in many foreign ports along the way. Among its many responsibilities to keep passengers safe, cruise ships must provide adequate security to ensure non-passengers do not board vessels and harm passengers. Not having security on board, surveillance systems, or other means of deterring intentional assaults could make P&O Cruises liable for victims’ injuries and damages. Intentional assaults might leave victims with concussions, lacerations, contusions, fractures, and other injuries that require urgent medical care.
P&O Cruises may also be held responsible for the actions of its employees. Cruises are responsible for protecting passengers from dangerous staff members, and failing to background check crew could make them liable for sexual or physical assaults.
Accidental Injuries Due to Crew Negligence
Many of the injuries aboard cruises are due to negligence. For example, kitchen staff who fail to follow food safety protocols might spread food-borne illnesses throughout a P&O cruise, entitling affected passengers to compensation for medical costs and other damages. When custodial staff fails to maintain decks accessible to passengers, victims might suffer common slip and fall injuries, like fractured wrists, hands, and head injuries.
Sometimes, victims might not realize that someone else is liable for their injuries. This is often the case when crew members on cruises overserve passengers, causing them to be overly intoxicated. If a passenger were to suffer injuries because of this, our lawyers could pursue compensation against the cruise ship for breaching its duty of care. Overserving passengers is one of the top causes of falls overboard, which are often life-altering for victims if not fatal.
What Damages Can You Recover After Suing P&O Cruises for Injury?
In your lawsuit against P&O Cruises, you can seek compensation for all damages due to negligence. This will include any medical costs you have incurred, wages you have missed, and emotional distress you have experienced because of your injuries. We can also assess the defendant’s level of negligence to determine whether you might receive punitive damages if your case goes to court.
Medical Costs
Your medical expenses are the first set of damages our lawyers will seek to recover in your claim against P&O Cruises. Often, victims get treatment from onboard medical staff and sometimes must be medically evacuated to a foreign hospital. We can obtain copies of these expenses for your case and continue tracking the cost of treatment upon your return home. The additional transportation costs you incur from cutting the cruise short should also be compensated. If you need to see specialists for your specific injuries to support your physical recovery, your lawsuit should also cover those costs, no matter how long your treatments may last.
Missed Income
After suffering injuries on a cruise, you may have to take more time off from work than you anticipated. This could lead to detrimental lost wages for you and your family, and our cruise ship accident and injury lawyers can show how your injuries prevent you from working. Victims’ income statements and paychecks can help us calculate their lost wages to date. If your injuries are permanent or especially long-lasting, we can also argue for future lost wages to be compensated.
Pain and Suffering
Getting seriously injured on a cruise can be traumatic for victims. The incident itself could cause emotional distress, which could be compounded by the fact that victims suffered debilitating injuries far away from home. Non-economic damages may comprise a large portion of victims’ recoveries from negligent cruise lines, so appreciating these losses is crucial. Our attorneys can evaluate your pain and suffering since the accident and have mental health experts testify to support our compensation requests. Initial offers from defendants may not provide enough compensation for victims’ non-economic damages, and we can continue to negotiate or take cases to trial for greater recoveries.
Punitive Damages
Only if our lawyers can prove gross negligence may victims get punitive damages in injury claims against P&O Cruises. Courts use punitive damages as a means to punish defendants’ egregious conduct and deter others from doing the same. For example, punitive damages may be available if a victim fell overboard because the cruise failed to properly inspect safety guardrails and ensure they were effective. Punitive damages are unavailable in settlements, but settling may still yield fair compensation for victims injured on a P&O cruise.
Call Our Cruise Ship Injury Attorneys to Discuss Your Claim Today
For call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind’s boat accident and injury lawyers at (305) 204-5369 for a free case analysis.
