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Cruise ship excursions are, for many people, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the cruise experience. After all, most people decide to take a cruise, at least in part, because they want to see different parts of the world. Shore excursions are the best opportunity to do so. However, some aspects of cruise ship excursions can result in serious injuries to passengers if not properly handled.
Cruise ship excursion injuries are a serious issue. Because of the significant damage that they can cause an individual to suffer, not only in physical terms but also emotionally and financially. Injury victims are entitled to seek compensation to help them cope with the effects of their injury. Call us if you have been the victim of an injury during a cruise ship excursion. Our experienced cruise ship injury lawyer Louis A. Vucci, P.A., understands how much your life may have been affected and is committed to helping hold cruise lines accountable for passenger injuries.
Cruise lines and excursion operators are required to take reasonable care to prevent passengers and crew from being injured. If you’ve suffered a shore excursion injury, experienced cruise ship accident attorney Louis A. Vucci can help you get fair compensation. Keep in mind, there may be a strict statute of limitations or time limit on your claim, so don’t hesitate to contact a cruise ship lawyer.
Cruise ship excursion injuries can happen in some ways and in several different locations. Often, these types of claims involve injuries resulting from:
Both tender ships and cruise ships will need to dock so that passengers can get on and off of the ship to enjoy various excursions in the course of their cruise. Unfortunately, when proper docking procedures are not followed, passengers can suffer serious injuries. These include broken bones and head injuries to drowning or near-drowning incidents.
Tenders are essential to the cruise experience. They ferry passengers between the cruise ship and various off-boat excursions. Unfortunately, there are several dangers that these boats can pose to passengers. If they are operated improperly, overloaded, or have problems with docking, passengers can be at risk of suffering physical harm or even drowning.
Once cruise ship passengers arrive onshore for an excursion, they will frequently need to take various forms of transportation to reach their destination. These include cars, mopeds, or buses. Unfortunately, as is the case in any situation, negligence or recklessness can result in devastating motor vehicle accidents. Those accidents subject passengers to considerable harm through no fault of their own.
Cruise ships offer passengers a wide array of exciting off-boat excursion opportunities, and passengers have every right to expect they will be safe while participating in these exciting adventures. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, defective or malfunctioning equipment results in cruise ship passengers suffering serious and preventable injuries.
When passengers take part in the cruise line’s off-boat excursions, the cruise ship company is responsible for providing for their safety. While this certainly applies to keeping them from suffering unnecessary physical harm in an accident, this also includes keeping them safe from other threats, such as theft, sexual assault, and physical violence.
Regardless of the specific cause of a cruise ship excursion accident, the injuries passengers may suffer in these circumstances can be extremely serious. It is important that the individual or entity responsible is held accountable for their wrongdoing. A maritime lawyer can help you make a personal injury claim for your cruise ship injury case.
When it comes to cruise ship claims, including excursion accidents, passengers and crew may be able to file a lawsuit under maritime law to seek compensation. Maritime law, also called admiralty law, is the system of laws that dictates liability and safety standards for commercial vessels on the ocean.
What this means is that admiralty law requires cruise lines to maintain a reasonable level of safety for both cruise passengers and crew members on board their vessels. This reasonable safety guarantee extends to your time on shore excursions. When cruise lines fail in their responsibility to maintain safety, and passengers or crew are injured as a result, they may be able to make a successful cruise ship accident claim under the law. A cruise ship accident lawyer can help you determine what you may be owed for your accident and how to get it.
One thing that limits passengers’ ability to make cruise ship injury claims under maritime law is cruise ticket contracts. The cruise industry often creates complicated contracts that may limit its liability in case of an accident. An experienced maritime attorney can help you navigate the web of regulations and contracts governing your options for suing a cruise line, enabling you to access the compensation you need.
At Louis A. Vucci, P.A., our legal team has helped a number of cruise ship passengers recover compensation for injuries sustained during a variety of different excursions. From sexual assault in secluded areas to wrongful death due to accidents or assault, unfortunately, there are many ways to become injured on a shore excursion.
Imagine you are an adventurous spirit who enjoys excitement and physical activity. Upon booking your cruise and perusing the list of available excursions, you find that the cruise line offers guided jet ski tours of the coast of one of its island destinations. Eager to see the sights while enjoying a high-speed adventure, you book your spot on this tour.
When the time finally arrives, you are set on a jet ski and told to sign a waiver without having been given any sort of training or preparation from the tour guide or rental staff. You’ve been on a jet ski before, though, so you feel confident in your ability to operate one without training. Unfortunately, you are unprepared for the massive waves that you encounter in the open ocean. None of your previous experiences have readied you for the five-foot swell that turns your jet ski upside down and sends you crashing into the sea. You are now in danger of any number of injuries, and your life is threatened in this situation. This threat could have been avoided had you received proper training from the cruise ship employee. Recovering compensation for your suffering or any injuries you sustained is an option worth pursuing.
Passengers in search of more relaxed excursions are not completely safe from harm either. As a seeker of warm beaches and soft sand, you might book a cruise to enjoy these conditions in a new and exotic location. When your ship finally arrives at the tropical island, you need to be transported to the shore by a cruise ship employee on a tender boat because the ship is too large to reach a shallow dock. Eager to reach your sunny destination, you board the tender boat and place your trust in the operator to get you safely to shore.
Unfortunately, the ship has imposed a strict shuttle schedule for the tender driver so that more passengers can be carried to shore in a shorter amount of time. As a result, this young driver has pushed the small motorboat to the uppermost limits of its capabilities. At such high speeds, even a small wave could capsize the craft. When you and your belongings are dumped into the shallow water, you get caught in a swell and hit your head on some underwater reef or debris. Since this was obviously the fault of the tender boat operator and his employers, you should not be expected to pay for your medical treatment out of your own pocket. At Louis A. Vucci, P.A., we can offer you professional help in pursuing compensation for that medical attention.
If you or someone you know has been injured during a cruise ship excursion, you may be entitled to file a claim for compensation for the damages you have suffered. Contact a lawyer at Louis A. Vucci, P.A., today by calling (786) 375-0344. Discuss your situation with a qualified legal professional and learn more about your rights and options under the law in this situation.
There are many things for which a passenger may make a claim, some of which include: