Keeping Afloat: What to Do When Cruise Ship Accidents Occur

How to React When Tragedy Strikes On Ship

They were onboard a luxury cruise ship when it happened. The couple was eating dinner with friends when Dan (not his real name) excused himself from the party. His fiancé, Dianne (not her real name), thought that he just needed to use the bathroom in their suite and thought nothing about it.

A couple of hours later, Dianne and her friends started to wonder where Dan was. After a few minutes more, they started to look for him, checking all the bars and restaurants in the ship. Dianne, who immediately ran back to the suite, found it empty. But stepping out onto the patio, she noticed something strange: a discarded jacket on the floor and blood marks on the ledge and railings. Below was the turbulent sea.

What to do when cruise ship accidents occur? Here are some guidelines on how to keep your head afloat when trouble strikes on sea.

How to Keep Your Head When Faced With Unfortunate Incidents Onboard a Cruise Ship

1. Report Strange Incidents Immediately
As soon as you feel that something strange is going on, report it to the ship’s security and administration at once. It doesn’t matter if the child you thought was missing turns up asleep in the cabin or the shouting next door turns out to be the television. It’s always better to be safe than sorry in cases like these. Take note of the exact time you reported the incident. This information might be crucial, should an investigation be made.

2. Enlist the help of a friend
So, your child has gone missing. Ask the help of a friend or an acquaintance and look for him. Enlist the help of other people. They can, not only help you, but act as witnesses in case of a real accident.

3. Keep Your Facts Straight
When did you notice he was missing? Was he intoxicated? Were you fighting before he left? Did he leave with anyone? Did he make any friends or enemies onboard? You’ll have to answer all these questions and more. Make sure you remember all the details surrounding the incident. And when you really don’t remember, don’t be afraid to say so. No lying.

4. Get a Good Lawyer
In the event of a real accident or tragedy taking place while onboard a cruise ship, get the help of a good lawyer.

Cruise Ship Injury Lawyer FAQs

What happens if I sustain an injury while participating in a cruise line’s side excursion?

Most of the time, it is not the cruise line’s responsibility to ensure your safety when you have stepped out of their ship. Instead, responsibility is transferred to the tour organizer who takes you around the island or tourist attraction. Thus, if you happen to get injured while taking a tour, you should hire a lawyer with a different specialty other than cruise ship cases.

On the other hand, if the cruise ship owns the island which you are touring or if the ship’s crew is in charge of giving the tour, then the responsibility of ensuring your safety is still with the cruise line. If you believe your injury was made possible through negligence on the part of the cruise line, then you have the right to ask for compensation.

What happens if I sustain an injury while getting on or off the ship?

Unfortunately, the cruise line is under no obligation to provide you with a safe means to enter and exit their ship when it is securely tied onto the port. That means that if you get injured while you are in between the port and the ship (e.g. climbing a stairs or walking across a plank), you will not be able to demand compensation from the cruise line.

On the other hand, if the ship is unable to enter port and the cruise line provides for small boats to take you to and from shore, it is their responsibility to ensure your safety while riding these smaller boats. If you are injured due to their negligence while you are on their small boat then you can ask compensation from them.

Be sure to consult with a qualified cruise ship injury lawyer if you need assistance with demanding compensation from a cruise ship line. It is your right to be compensated for your medical bills and more when the injury was the fault of the cruise line.

Successful Cruise Ship Injury Case Leads To Compensation

Carpenter Gets Thousands Of Euros In Cruise Ship Injury Compensation

A carpenter from Wales once went on a rode a cruise ship with his family. He and his family were having the time of their lives when their dream quickly turned into a nightmare. As the carpenter was walking along the deck one day, he tripped but managed to put his hands in front of him for protection.

Everything would have been alright if there was no shard of glass left on ship’s deck. His hand landed on that piece of glass leading to his cruise ship injury. Indeed, the medical crew of the ship immediately came to him and patched him up as best they could. However, the pain he was feeling would not disappear.

When the cruise ended he immediately had his injury checked by a good doctor. The doctor gave him a mix of good and bad news. His hand would recover completely, but only after a couple of months. Being a carpenter, this man would not be able to earn money for these months. It was not his fault this happened, but the fault of the negligent cleaning crew on the ship.

See How A Cruise Ship Injury Lawyer Can Help You

In search of assistance, this man looked for and hired the services of a group of cruise ship injury lawyers online. Through the assistance this group provided, he was eventually able to claim 2,250 Euros for his hand injury and 4,500 Euros for the money he would lose during the few months of his recover period.

The carpenter was so relieved that he would still be able to provide for his family although he could no longer perform his duties as a carpenter. And do you know the best thing about what happened? He didn’t have to pay a cent of his compensation to the group of lawyers that helped him. Thus, he ended up not wasting any money.

Have you gotten into an accident while traveling on a cruise ship? Has this accident led to your getting in injury of some sort? Was the accident caused by mismanagement on the part of the ship’s staff? If you answered yes to all these questions then you should find a good cruise ship injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Cruise Critic: Advice on Choosing the Best Cruise

Cruise Critic

Be your own cruise critic— that is the best advice you can follow when choosing the right cruise for you. Bargain hunting is not the name of the game here. Your safety and pleasure should be of the utmost importance. After all, you want to enjoy the days, weeks, or even months you spend at sea. Make sure you choose the right package for you, or you may end up having to call your lawyer.

The Best Cruise: It’s Your Choice

The following are a few key factors to consider during your decision making process:

1.    The duration of your cruise. While seniors and some adults would enjoy a month-long cruise, those travelling with children, or who just do not have the time away from work or studies, should make sure they book shorter trips.

2.    The destination of your cruise. In-line with the duration is the destination of your trip. Cruise trips to far-away destinations like the Panama Canal and Alaska will obviously take more time to complete than trips to nearby destinations. Still, if you think the destination is worthwhile, it would be advisable to fix your schedule way ahead of time.

3.    The amenities offered in your cruise. Do you want a cruise ship with a swimming pool on-deck? Do you want to stay in an ordinary hotel room sized cabin, or a huge suite? Do you want to eat western, eastern food, or both? Does your cruise ship need to have a shopping center, ballroom, bar and disco, and other such entertainment venues? Be sure to match their offers with your wants before making a decision.

4.    The cost of your cruise. While you do not want to spend your money on a rundown ship that could sink like the Titanic at any moment, you still have to make sure the cost fits your budget. Research is key in making sure you are satisfied with the time, destination, and amenities of your cruise, plus the money you will be spending on it. After all, you do not want to be worrying about running into debt for the duration of your trip.

Keep these four tips in mind and enjoy your trip. Remember that you are your own cruise critic and the power of getting on the best cruise is in your hands.

Requirements to Become a Florida Lawyer

Florida Lawyer In-demand – Learn the Requirements

How do you become a Florida lawyer? There are essentially 4 requirements to become a Florida attorney:

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • LSAT
  • Law Degree
  • Florida Bar Exam

The first thing that you need is a 4-year Bachelor’s degree. Generally, you can take any college course you want but the best choices are those that will complement your law schooling after graduation. Some good choices for courses are Public Administration, Speech and Drama and Psychology.

You should pass the Law School Admission Test given by law schools to those who want to study law. The fee for LSAT can be expensive but if you feel that you can’t afford the fee, you can ask to waive the fee. You should have very high grades during college to be eligible for this waiver.

The next requirement would be your Juris Doctorate or your Law degree. For this, you have to attend 4 years of law school and have a grade of no less than 3.0 in all your subjects. If you want to be a Florida cruise ship injury lawyer or Florida cruise ship injury attorney, you have to choose classes related to personal injury.

When you have graduated from law school, the last requirement to become a Florida lawyer is to pass the Florida Bar Exam. This is the final hurdle before you become a Florida attorney and this is the hardest. It means sleepless nights of studying. But all the hard work will be worth it when you pass this last requirement. Good luck and hope that you pass all the requirements to become a Florida lawyer!

Cheap Cruise to Nowhere New York City

Around this time of the year, you can always find cheap cruise to nowhere from New York City. What is Cruise to Nowhere? Where does it cruise to? Well, the answer is nowhere! The cruise ship doesn’t dock to any other ports beside the port at New York City. It will just sail away into the open seas and then return to the port where it was from.

cheap cruise to nowhere new york city

Why do people stay on cheap cruise to Nowhere in New York City? Because staying on a cruise ship is an experience in itself. Imagine skinny-dipping on a heated spa underneath the stars in the open sea. Imagine having the best dining options and live entertainment, casinos and best room accommodations that you can have for a night or two.

Cheap cruise to Nowhere from New York City may be a new way to experience New York.

When something bad happens while you are on board a cheap cruise to nowhere New York City, you will find that cruise ship injury lawyers will make sure that you will be compensated properly.

Cruise Ship Jobs and Application Tips

A cruise ship passenger spends thousands of dollars to get into the cruise ship and enjoy all the amenities aboard but do you know that you can enjoy the same amenities and earn income at the same time? Cruise ship jobs will let you hit 2 birds in 1 stone. If you love to travel, see different places in the world and earn money at the same time, working at a cruise ship may be the perfect career for you.

cruise ship jobs

Don’t think that only those have studies marine engineering and hotel and restaurant management are the ones who can apply. Aside from those who operate on the ship itself, there are many more service oriented jobs that a cruise liner offers.

Some of the cruise ship jobs that are in demand are the following:

  • room service crew
  • hairdresser
  • lounge singer
  • duty free shop sales assistant
  • housekeeping
  • masseuse
  • manicurist
  • waiters
  • fitness instructor
  • stage/production staff
  • bartender
  • dishwasher

When you apply for the job, read carefully the contract. They may include statements that may not give you protection in the event that something happened to you aboard. Reaching far places while working may be an exciting idea but while you are there, remember that accidents and cruise ship injuries may happen and you are away from your family. Be sure that you understand each of the stipulations in the contract. This is very important.

Enjoy your work aboard but as all cruise ship injury lawyers suggest, be sure that that company you’re working for will be responsible for you while you are on board.

Basic Things that Cruise Injury Lawyers Always Ask Their Clients

When you seek the help of cruise injury lawyers, there are routine questions that they will ask you. These questions are meant to make them understand the background of your injury, if your injury can receive a claim for you and what things you should do to have a higher chance at getting the claim. Cruise lines will always want to protect themselves against liability for your injury so the lawyers will always ask their clients these questions to gather all the information they need.

cruise ship injury lawyer

Question #1. What happened?

What exactly happened while you’re on board the cruise ship? What caused your accident? The most common reasons for cruise injury are accidental slip because of wet deck, sexual assault by a crew, physical assault of a crew, food poisoning from the food at the ship’s restaurant or physical assault of a fellow passenger.

Question #2. Can you push through with your case?

There are some cases wherein you are prohibited to file a lawsuit. If you check your cruise line ticket, it may have small prints that say that you cannot file a lawsuit after a designated time, usually it’s 6 months. When you approach a cruise injury attorney after 6 months, you cann’t push through with the lawsuit. In the same way, statutes of limitations may also stop you from filing a lawsuit. There are other legal things that may prohibit you from bringing your case to court and your lawyer should know alll about these things.

Question #3. What documents do you have?

A legal battle always need documents as evidences. You should supply your lawyer written statements, medical certificates and witnesses that can help him fight for you in the court. They may also ask you for other documents such as you cruise ship tickets and your prescriptions.

These are the basic things that cruise injury lawyers always ask their clients when a client approach them. It is a complicated process and you should seek their help before anything that the cruise line asked you to.

Steps to Take When a Cruise Ship Injury Happens to an Employee of the Cruise Ship

Are you a crew member of a cruise ship? Did anything bad happen to you while you are working on a cruise ship. You might have been beaten, fallen overboard or slipped giving you either short-term or life-time physical inability. When an injury happens to you while you are working for the cruise ship company aboard, you have the right to demand for a compensation from the company.

When you are in the process of asking for compensation from the company you are working for, the company will usually give you papers to sign. Don’t sign these papers. They might contain statements that relive them of responsibility for your injury. Don’t sign any document that they gave you.

cruise ship injury

When an injury happens to you, be mindful of your surrounding even if it is difficult. Look at the people who saw what happened. Memorize their faces. You might need them later as witnesses. If you can still move and walk after your injury, approach them and ask them their names, addresses and contact numbers.

When you can report the injury immediately. If you are immobilized by your injury, find a co-worker who can report it for you. You or your co-worker should submit a written state and this is the only document that you need to sign. Make sure that you have a copy of this written statement. As soon as you can, file this report to the management or to your supervisor.

When you are rushed to the hospital or sent to the doctor for medical check-up, don’t forget to ask for a doctor’s certificate detailing the injuries that happened to you. Keep the doctor’s certificate because you will need this in settling your case.

Passengers are not the only ones who can file for a cruise ship injury claim from the company who owns the ship. Employees who are working aboard the cruise ship also have rights and can also ask for compensation when an injury or anything bad happen to them while they are working on board. As an employee, you should know your rights and you should immediately ask for the assistance of a cruise ship injury lawyer.

What constitutes a Cruise Ship Injury

Were you physically harmed, molested, harassed or raped inside a cruise ship? Does a cruise ship crew member hurt you or caused you any inconvenience? Did an injury happened to you while you are a passenger of a cruise ship? Know your rights and find out what constitutes a cruise ship injury according to the law.
what constitutes cruise ship lawyer

In the most recent studies, 1 out of 4 passengers in a cruise ship experienced sexual assault, molestation or harassment from a crew member of the ship. This means that in a hundred passengers for every cruise, there is an average of 25 people who have the right to file a claim from the cruise ship company.

But this number is very far from the number who are actually filing a claim. This is because few people don’t know what constitutes a cruise ship injury. These sexual harassments committed to the passengers by crew members is under cruise ship injury.

When you are aboard a cruise ship, the law states that the cruise ship company has the responsibility to make sure that you are protected from any harm from their servants and crew members. It is the duty of the company to ensure that you have a safe journey while on their ship. That is why anything bad that happened to you during while you are onboard is the responsibility of the cruise ship company.

Knowing your rights before boarding a cruise ship will help you feel empowered and relaxed during your vacation cruise.