Baker Zimmerman & Perez - Florida Cruise Ship Accident Attorneys

Cruise Ship Accidents, Cruise Ship Injuries, Cruise Ship Deaths

Were you or a loved one injured on a cruise ship?

Cruise ships are a popular method of vacationing. From 2005 to 2010, about 100 million passengers took cruises according to the Cruise Lines International Association. Annually almost 12 million passengers embarked on cruises worldwide. In South Florida alone, there are more than 8 million visitors to Florida’s seaports (Port of Palm Beach, Port Everglades, Port of Miami). 

Each year thousands of passengers are injured on cruise ships. Many believe cruise ship injuries and cruise ship deaths were under-reported, and until recently, cruise lines were not required to report incidents in a timely, meaningful way. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, which requires cruise lines to report all deaths, missing persons, theft, sexual harassment and assaults.

Some recent examples of cruise ship injuries and accidents include:

• Carnival Corp’s Costa Concordia ran into a reef (rocks) off the coast of the Italian Island of Giglio, began taking on water due to a 165-foot gash on the port side of Concordia's hull and eventually capsized. At least 24 passengers died in the accident with seven passengers still missing and countless others injured. The cause of the deadly ship grounding – human error. The Captain (Francesco Schettino) deviated from the safe course and made decisions during the emergency that did not follow company procedures. He is currently under house arrest and he faces charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship before all the passengers were rescued.
• Two brothers aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas are accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl from Iowa on their last day of a holiday cruise.
• More than 100 people on board a cruise ship Carnival Corp’s Ruby Princess contracted the Norovirus, a contagious gastrointestinal illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea for one to three days. Also recently affected by the Norovirus are Carnival Corp’s Crown Princess and Royal Caribbean’s Voyager.
  
• A Massachusetts women on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas slipped down the stairs, hit her head and died.
• A South Carolina man aboard Carnival Corps Carnival Fantasyfell from one of the upper levels of the ship's atrium to the lobby level and died.
  

While the cruise line and cruise ship industry have a duty of care to guard against accidents and injury, some of the common injuries can include: slip and fall accidents, falling overboard, pool or recreational area accidents and drowning (scuba diving and snorkeling), medical staff negligence, food poisoning, Norwalk virus (norovirus), legionnaires disease, assault or battery by crew or passengers due to negligent security, sexual assault by passengers or crew, wrongful death due to cruise negligence, a cruise line-approved excursion injuries or employee injuries (boiler room and engine room explosions).

Where you or a family member injured or died on a cruise ship and would like to know more about your rights? – Contact Baker Zimmerman & Perez today at 800-886-LAWS.