Should I Sue the Cruise Line Employee or Company if I Was Injured on a Cruise Ship?
Cruise ships are a fun vacation for tourists and travelers, but they are rife with danger. Passengers are frequently injured on cruise ships, and the parties responsible can be held liable in court.
An injury on a cruise ship is often the result of employee negligence. You can sue the employee for failing to act with care, and you might also be able to sue the cruise line company. Generally, employers may be vicariously liable for their employee’s negligence, but cruise ships are different. You should check your ticket with your attorney. The ticket is essentially a contract between you and the cruise line, and there may be terms limiting your ability to sue. You can sue for various injuries and damages, and common injuries include slip and falls, illnesses, and falling overboard.
If you were injured on a cruise ship, there might be limitations on who you can sue, and getting compensation might be challenging. Our lawyers for cruise ship injuries and accidents can help you through this process. Call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369.
Who You Can Sue if You Are Injured on a Cruise Ship
Employee negligence is a common source of cruise ship injuries. The employees on a cruise ship are tasked with maintaining the ship, meeting safety standards, and ensuring that all the passengers remain safe. However, cruise ship employees are not perfect, and their negligence can lead to passenger injuries.
If a lawsuit is the best way to get compensation, the injured passenger can sue the employee for negligence. The employee owed the passenger a duty of care and safety, and their act of negligence constituted a breach of that duty. If the breach was the direct cause of the accident and injuries, the passenger can sue the cruise ship employee for their damages.
Our attorneys for cruise ship injuries and accidents can help you explore additional options for a lawsuit. Generally, an employer may be held vicariously liable for an employee’s negligence. As long as the employee’s negligent actions were within the scope of their job duties, their employer may also be held liable. However, cruise lines often limit their passengers’ ability to sue them.
Limitations on Suing Cruise Line Companies After Being Injured
If you want to file a lawsuit for injuries sustained on a cruise ship, you must review your ticket with an attorney. Your ticket is more than a boarding pass to get on the ship. It is a contract containing various terms and conditions, including ones that affect your legal rights. Our Florida attorneys for boating injuries and accidents can review your ticket for any terms limiting your ability to sue or claim compensation.
Your ticket may limit the cruise line’s liability in case of accidents. For example, the ticket might say that injured passengers cannot sue the cruise line for certain kinds of accidents or that legal arbitration is required before you are allowed to file a lawsuit. Most people accept these terms without reviewing them because they do not expect to be injured while vacationing on a cruise ship.
It is hard to say exactly what your rights are in a legal dispute with a cruise line without first checking the ticket. You should contact an attorney as soon as possible to figure out your next step and whether the cruise line can even be held liable for your injuries.
Proving Liability in a Lawsuit Against a Cruise Line and Its Employees
If you can sue the cruise line for your injuries, our lawyers for cruise ship injuries and accidents can help you gather the evidence necessary to prove liability. Your evidence will vary depending on how your accident happened. In many cases, evidence is limited. If you were involved in an accident onboard the ship, cruise line employees likely cleaned up the scene quickly, and any physical evidence might be lost.
It is important to document your accident as thoroughly as possible. You should take photos and record videos of the accident scene immediately after it happens. These photos and videos might be the only evidence depicting the accident scene. If you could not take any photos or videos, we can demand to see the security camera footage from the cruise line. Most cruise ships are loaded with security cameras, and there is a chance your accident was caught on video.
Even without any physical evidence or documentation, we can rely on witnesses to back up your version of events. Cruise ships are often full of passengers. Especially large cruise ships might carry tens of thousands of people. You should get the names and contact information of anyone who saw your accident so they can testify about it in court.
What Kind of Injuries on a Cruise Ship Can I Sue For?
A cruise ship is a large, complicated vessel with dangerous machinery and unseen hazards. There are numerous ways a passenger may be injured on a cruise ship. Our lawyers for cruise ship injuries and accidents can assess your injuries and calculate your damages.
Injuries on a cruise ship can be severe if not downright deadly. If the ocean is especially rough, passengers might be tossed about the ship. It is possible to fall overboard in these conditions, and passengers are often severely injured. Even if they do not fall overboard, passengers may fall and hurt themselves. Slip and fall accidents might sound minor, but they can cause seriously painful injuries.
Cruise ships tend to provide somewhat close quarters for many passengers, and the possibility of illness is high. If a pool or jacuzzi is not properly cleaned, passengers can get very sick. In many cases, the illness is a full-blown outbreak, and numerous passengers are incapacitated. Similarly, undercooked or spoiled food onboard the ship may lead to serious illness.
Some injuries are difficult to trace back to a specific employee. For example, if you and other passengers become very ill after eating spoiled food on a cruise ship, it might be impossible to pin the blame on a single employee. In such cases, suing the cruise line might be the only option.
Call Our Attorneys for Cruise Ship Injuries and Accidents for Help Now
If your vacation cruise took a wrong turn and left you with injuries, our Miami lawyers for boating injuries and accidents can help you sue the employee responsible and possibly the cruise line. For a free case review, call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369.
