Are Cruise Ships Safe?
If you plan on taking a cruise, it’s important for you to learn about some of the top things that can make cruise ships unsafe for passengers.
While going on a cruise is often an enjoyable experience, there are some safety concerns that passengers should be aware of. For example, traveling at sea presents the risk of falls into the water, which could result in passengers drowning. Crew members might act negligently or maliciously, causing injury to passengers. Cruise ship companies might fail to ensure the safety of passengers, leading to a wide array of accidents and injuries. Suppose your safety was endangered and you were injured on a cruise ship. In that case, you can increase your chances of recovering compensation by reporting your injuries and seeking immediate care from medical professionals.
To get a free review of your case, call the cruise ship injury lawyers at Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. today at (305) 204-5369.
What Can Make Cruise Ships Unsafe?
When traveling on a cruise ship, passengers should always consider their safety. Being at sea presents the possibility of falling overboard, especially if there is a lack of safety precautions. Docking abroad can make it more challenging for passengers to report incidents to the police. Furthermore, negligence on the part of crew members or cruise ship companies might seriously injure passengers.
Traveling at Sea
While cruise ships are often fun vessels to vacation on, they present risks because they travel at sea. Being at sea somewhat isolates passengers from others, making it difficult to contact law enforcement or document incidents that might happen. Being at sea also introduces the possibility of passengers falling overboard, which is one of the top causes of cruise ship deaths and missing persons cases. Passengers who fall overboard might experience serious injuries, such as anoxic brain injuries.
Docking Abroad
Being docked in foreign countries, while exciting, might present certain difficulties. If an accident happens on board, and you report it to local law enforcement, it might be challenging to access your incident report in the future. Seeking medical attention in a foreign country after an accident on a cruise ship, though often important for passengers, might also be hard.
Negligent Crew Members
Unfortunately, some incidents on cruise ships are caused by negligent or malicious crew members. Assaults on board might occur, including sexual assaults, causing injury and emotional distress to victims. Sexual assaults on cruises are somewhat common, and passengers can check the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website for the latest cruise line incident reports, which include reported sexual assaults.
Negligent crew members might overserve alcohol to passengers, leading to falls overboard, other injuries, or dangerous altercations.
Negligent Hiring Practices
Cruise ship companies are tasked with ensuring the safety and well-being of their passengers. When these companies act negligently, especially in their hiring practices, passengers might be in danger.
Poor Ship Maintenance
The risk of danger increases when cruise ship companies fail to ensure that guardrails and other safety precautions are effective. Insufficient lighting and other hazards pose a risk to passengers’ safety and may lead to avoidable injuries.
Negligent Security
A lack of security on a cruise ship might lead to assaults, non-passengers coming aboard, or other incidents. There are many other ways that cruise ship companies might act negligently, causing harm to passengers. Cruise ships typically do not have law enforcement on board, making it difficult for passengers to report incidents or seek help after an accident that results in injury.
Unsafe Kitchen Practices
Not following food safety practices in cruise ship kitchens puts passengers at risk of suffering food-borne illnesses. Norovirus, rotavirus, and bacterial infections from Salmonella are all common on large vessels, and our cruise ship injury lawyers may be able to hold companies accountable for the kitchen staff’s negligence.
Are Some Cruise Ships Safer than Others?
While some inherent features of cruises pose potential safety concerns, like docking in foreign countries and being isolated while traveling at sea, some cruise ships may impose additional safety measures to enhance passengers’ comfort.
At the very least, cruise ships that make port in the U.S. must follow the mandatory safety measures of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA). That means all subject cruises must have security camera systems and place them in any high-risk areas for assaults or injuries.
Some cruise ships may have security cameras throughout the entire vessel, excluding areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, while others may have a less extensive network of security cameras. Regardless, our cruise ship accident lawyers can use a lawsuit to force the ship to preserve and produce any relevant surveillance footage.
Cruise ship companies aren’t necessarily required to perform background checks on potential crew members, though many do. A cruise ship that doesn’t conduct thorough background checks on its crew and seriously considers passengers’ safety may end up endangering them.
The CVSSA requires cruise ship companies to report crimes, deaths, and disappearances that occur on board, and this information is published regularly for the public. You can compare cruise line incident reports to see which popular cruises have been the safest recently.
How Do You Report Safety Hazards on a Cruise Ship?
If your safety has been endangered and you have been injured or otherwise harmed on a cruise ship, you should do several important things, starting with reporting the incident.
Many cruise ships will have a procedure for incident reporting, which victims can follow. Tell local law enforcement if you are docked in a foreign port at the time of your incident. Our maritime injury lawyers can contact foreign law enforcement agencies in the future to obtain a copy of your report. Reporting safety hazards and alerting the cruise ship company to your injuries is crucial so that you have documentation of your initial damages.
One of many safety hazards might have caused your injury on a cruise ship. Obstructions might lead to slip and falls, and improper guardrails might lead to passengers falling overboard. It is important to immediately report these safety hazards and the injuries you sustained to the cruise ship company.
Where to Get Medical Care After an Accident on an Unsafe Cruise Ship
When your safety is compromised due to negligence on a cruise ship, it is paramount that you seek medical attention right away. Always prioritize your physical safety after sustaining injuries of any kind, even if you’re unsure of the cause.
Cruise ships typically have medical staff on board. While these individuals may be medical professionals tasked with providing you with the proper care, they are also employed by the cruise ship company. Because of this, injured passengers should seek additional medical care as soon as possible, preferably in the next foreign country they dock in.
While this might be challenging for some passengers, it is important, as waiting to go to the hospital until you return home might jeopardize your future case for compensation.
You should confirm your treatment plan and continue it with doctors when you return home. Never stop attending doctor appointments or stop prioritizing your physical health and recovery. That could jeopardize the medical evidence we can submit on your behalf, so take this part of your lawsuit seriously.
Can You File a Lawsuit for Injuries Sustained on an Unsafe Cruise Ship?
Suppose the cruise ship you traveled on did not uphold its duty of care to you, and the company’s negligence caused your injuries. In that case, you can likely pursue a compensation claim.
The process of suing a cruise ship company can be challenging, especially because many cruise ships include caveats to suing on passenger tickets. This might mean that the time you have to file a lawsuit will be shorter than you initially anticipated. By properly reporting your accident and getting your injuries assessed by medical professionals, you may have a greater chance of recovery.
Liability may ultimately fall on the cruise ship company, even if it doesn’t seem that way initially. Employers are liable for their employees’ actions while working, so the cruise may be responsible for any injuries due to a crew member, whether intentional or not.
Should You Leave Cruise Ship that is Unsafe?
If you’re injured on a cruise ship, it’s normal to feel unsafe. The cruise may not have the necessary medical facilities to treat your injuries properly, and you may risk worsening your injuries due to the cruise ship’s conditions if you stay. After suffering bad injuries, especially passengers, should leave unsafe cruise ships.
Neck, back, brain, and spinal cord injuries may require medical evacuation from a cruise ship somewhat immediately. Passengers may be taken to a nearby hospital for urgent medical care, such as surgery or triage.
You can end your vacation short and return home for any injury, from a broken nose to a displace leg fracture. Please tell us the cost of your return flight home, as well as any other transportation expenses incurred because you left an unsafe cruise ship following an accident.
Your future lawsuit can cover all these damages and more, like all medical expenses and any pain and suffering damages. Being badly injured on a cruise can be traumatizing, and we can fight for a passenger’s fair recovery of non-economic damages as well.
What Evidence Proves Unsafe Conditions on a Cruise Ship?
Let us collect the compelling evidence you need to prove unsafe conditions on a cruise ship caused your recent injuries.
Photos
Take whatever photos you can after a cruise ship accident. Photograph a poorly lit stairwell, uneven flooring in hallways, or another hazard that caused your injury. Photos help us prove the condition of the scene immediately after the accident and let us recreate it for the jury.
Video Footage
As mentioned, video footage may be available because many cruise ships must maintain surveillance systems per the CVSSA. Cruise ships might delete relevant footage as time passes, so contact us to obtain video footage that can be concrete evidence of the cruise ship’s liability.
Eyewitness Statements
Eyewitnesses can testify about hazardous conditions on a cruise, an assault that they saw firsthand, or any other relevant details they witnessed. We can help plaintiffs track down and interview eyewitnesses long after they have left a cruise, so don’t worry if you cannot remember who was present.
Call Us About a Cruise Ship Accident Today
Reach out to our cruise ship accident lawyers by calling Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369 for a free evaluation of your case.
