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.