Maritime Insurance Law

Maritime Accident

Victims of cruise ship or sea accidents as such often suffer debilitating injuries that could change their lives forever. Cruise ships have become increasingly popular with the people all over the world and the cruise ship industry brings in billions of dollars a year.

Despite its grand success, cruise lines have recently come under fire because of the many cruise ship accidents onboard. Illness due to poor sanitation, personal injury due to lack of security or safety precautions have become common. With Cruise ship vacations growing at a phenomenal pace the average person about to embark on a dream cruise ship vacation never really thinks about the things that could go wrong anytime.

Common cruise ship accidents include assault by crew members or passengers, food poisoning, slip and falls, trip and falls etc. The cruise ship industry has restricted the place and time within which you can place a claim which are printed on the tickets. Many tickets make a stipulation that cruise line must be notified of the accident within a specific time.

The ticket may also have a provision that may require filing the claim within one year of the time, the cruise ship accidents occur, and they also require that the claims are made in a certain state. Due to these limitations, it is important to have representation from an experienced attorney who can ensure the necessary steps to be taken in case of cruise ship accidents.

It is the responsibility of the Cruise ship lines to make sure there are no dangerous conditions on board that could cause serious injury to its passengers. When poor maintenance, incompetent staff members, or improperly trained employees lead to cruise ship accidents, the cruise ship owners can be held legally responsible for their negligence.

Inadequate safety equipment or emergency precautions can also cause the owners to be held liable for cruise ship accidents. Victims of cruise ship accidents could be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

A good maritime attorney could help recover the lost wages, reimburse medical bills and other areas of compensations and wouldn’t want to add on to the growing mess of bills. The same laws apply to yacht accidents since the law makes no distinction between accidents on yachts and accidents on cruise ships.

In maritime law, the measure of recovery is dependent on the injured persons status at the time of the accident. On a passenger injury, the law of negligence is applied and on crew members injury, the Jones Act and the common law doctrine of un-seaworthiness laws apply, regardless of whether the crew member is on a big ship or small vessel.