When To Contact A Cruise Accident Lawyer
More than 8 million people enter and depart from cruise ships in Florida’s ports each year. Accidents and injuries happen aboard cruise ships on a regular basis. Depending on the circumstances, Florida law, Federal Maritime law or law from a foreign port has control over a cruise ship claim.
Cases Represented By a Cruise Law Firm
Cruise law firms handle a wide variety of cases. Accidents often involve slip/trip and falls, either on board or during excursions to foreign ports. Sometimes travelers slip and fall in the pool, but they also slip in the shower or on wet bathroom floors. In addition, ship or dock accidents occur during diving accidents during leisure activities.
Cruise ships can be breeding grounds for germs due to the large number of people occupying a limited space. Health issues on board cruise ships involve seaborne illnesses and contagious infections such as norovirus, which causes severe vomiting. Food poisoning is also a common cause of illness on cruise ships.
Many cruise ship claims involve crime, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and physical assault and battery. With so many people carrying valuables onto the ship, theft is another serious issue. Therefore, it’s important to take the same safety precautions on a ship that you would take at a hotel or resort.
Experts expect cruise ships to carry 22 million passengers worldwide in 2014. According to USA Today, the Coast Guard began unannounced inspections of cruise ships March 5, beginning with ships that had the most complaints during the twice yearly mandatory routine inspections.
Captain Eric Christensen of the Coast Guard recently presented to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during a two-day forum on cruise ships. The Coast Guard found 351 discrepancies from international safety standards after inspecting 140 foreign cruise ships in U.S. ports in 2013. Fire-screen doors did not close properly in 44 of the cases.
In addition to Captain Christensen’s presentation, the NTSB forum included presentations on the following topics:
- Vessel operations
- Accident investigations
- Corporate oversight
- Ship design
- Emergency response