Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers is dedicated to protecting victims hurt on Disney Cruises leaving from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Our cruise injury lawyers offer free, no-obligation consultation to all injured victims. Contact our offices to find out what your case may be worth and how to hold a cruise line fully responsible for an accident caused by its negligence.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Getting Hurt on a Disney Cruise?
If your injury suffered on a Disney Cruise is only minor and heals in a few days, you may not need a lawyer’s help for your case. However, if your injury is much worse, say you suffer a bone fracture or a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), you could need a Fort Lauderdale Cruise Lawyer to protect your interests.
Disney Cruise Line won’t automatically help you with medical costs. In fact, they may use their corporate lawyers to look for ways to blame you for what happened. Perhaps they’ll claim you were clumsy or that you were somewhere passengers aren’t allowed.
Don’t worry, Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers will be investigating what happened, securing all evidence, and building a strong case even Disney will have a tough time rejecting.
Who Is Responsible If I Get Hurt on a Florida Cruise Ship Vacation?
Disney Cruise Line and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, are responsible for the safety of every passenger and visitor on board. They must provide safe gangways to board the ship, free of trip-and-fall hazards. Their rooms, restaurants, pools, and entertainment halls should all be free of accident risks.
Disney would also be responsible for the actions of other passengers. They must clean up messes that children could leave behind, like spilled drinks and ice, before someone suffers a slip-and-fall injury. The company would be liable for any criminal behavior, including assaults, that occur on or off the ship.
If you or a family member are hurt in a preventable accident, you’d have the right to submit an injury claim to get help paying for medical care that could be necessary beyond the end date of the cruise.
Disney Cruise Line Ships
Disney Cruise Line operates many ships and they usually do a great job of keeping guests safe. But in an industry that involves trips on the water and land with millions of people a year, accidents can occur.
These are just some of the specific ships that might be the scene of a painful injury for guests:
- Disney Destiny
- Disney Adventure
- Disney Magic
- Disney Wonder
- Disney Dream
- Disney Fantasy
- Disney Wish
- Disney Treasure
Disney Cruise Vacation Dangers
Passengers on Disney cruises can be hurt both on the boat and off the boat. Vacations will usually involve several stops and the boarding and departure from the ship in Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, or the Port of Miami.
These are just a few of the types of accidents most reported on cruises:
- Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall dangers in restaurants, from puddles around pools, on stairwells, and on gangways.
- Accidents involving cruise ship activities and entertainment. On rides like the AquaMouse.
- Falls overboard
- Violent ship motions caused by turbulent seas
- Respiratory issues.
- Cuts on sharp edges.
- Falling objects.
- Food poisoning.
- Exposure to viruses.
- Injuries while on excursions.
- An accident at a port-of-call in the Caribbean or in the Bahamas or on Disney’s own Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay.
- Negligent security accidents involving assaults committed by other passengers or attacks while exploring islands and cities.
What to Do After a Cruise Accident
Disney Cruise Line will be ready to cast doubt on every part of your account of what happened. The best way to be ready for their unfair tactics is to have all evidence ready to go. Your Fort Lauderdale Disney Cruise Accident Lawyer will be investigating every aspect of your case, but your lawyer can’t be there at the time of your injury.
If you are feeling up to moving around, you should collect every bit of evidence on the cruise ship as you can.
Try to complete these tasks:
- Take Photos. Get photos of the obstacle or object that caused you harm. That hazard will likely be cleaned up for fixed by the time you return. If you aren’t strong enough to gather evidence or must leave for the infirmary, ask someone with you or a helpful witness to gather details.
- Get witness contact information. Make sure to get detailed information, because once the cruise is over, guests will be heading home to many different locations across the globe. Your lawyer will need to be able to locate them.
- Alert the Disney Cruise Staff. Make sure the crew, a manager, knows about your accident. They’ll want to prepare an incident report for their corporate owners. This report can serve as powerful evidence for your case.
- See Your Own Doctor. Once you are back on dry land, see your own physician and let your doctor know what happened. Do this even if a cruise ship doctor proclaimed you okay. Have all injuries and new sources of pain checked out. Follow your doctor’s orders.
- Contact a Local Lawyer. A Fort Lauderdale Cruise Accident Lawyer as soon as possible. Cruise ships arrive and depart quickly. You’ll want to give your attorney the earliest chance to secure fresh evidence and track down witnesses.
Can I Use a Florida Lawyer to Represent My Cruise Injury Claim If I’m from Out of State?
Yes. Your lawyer can help you hold Disney accountable even if you live outside of Florida. Your lawyer may be able to represent you in settlement negotiations and court hearings without you having to return to Fort Lauderdale.
Having a lawyer in Fort Lauderdale and closer to Disney Cruise Line headquarters may make a huge difference in your case. At Cowen Edwards Trial Attorneys we can represent any injury victim on any cruise ship anywhere in Florida.
Finding Support for Disney Cruise Ship Accident Victims
Cruise accident victims must hold the Walt Disney Company fully liable for injuries on their boats. Victims may face months or years of pain and even potential surgeries down the road, due to the accidents caused by a negligent cruise line.
Your cruise ship accident lawyer also compiles a list of all the hardships you and your family have been through since an injury. Every damage must be included in a cruise ship accident claim, otherwise Disney and its insurance providers can just ignore it, leaving you with the bill.
These and other factors will also contribute to the size of a Disney Cruise Line accident settlement check:
- Medical compensation for current medical bills and those expected in the future.
- Lifelong support for victims left with a permanent disability.
- Support for the physical pain victims may endure.
- Support for the emotional trauma victims may be left to cope with.
- The devastating loss of enjoyment of life due to an injury.
- Reimbursement for lost income and benefits while a victim must miss work.
- Compensation for travel costs.
- Wrongful death benefits for families who lose a loved one to a cruise ship accident.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my child is injured on a Disney Cruise Ship?
Children injured by the careless actions of cruise ship employees will need extra consideration when parents file an accident claim or lawsuit. A broken bone or head injury at a young age may seem to heal, but victims may experience development problems as they grow. They could require surgeries to correct fractured bones that have grown back together incorrectly. They may require additional therapy if a brain injury starts to affect their lives. A Cowen Edwards attorney makes sure Disney Cruise Line is accountable for every need a child victim has in the future.
How long do I have to file a Florida Cruise Ship Injury Claim?
In most cases, Florida allows victims to wait up to two years from the date of the injury to file a claim. You shouldn’t wait years though. Allow your lawyer to begin an investigation as soon as possible before evidence disappears and witnesses become harder to find.
What If I Can’t Afford a Florida Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer?
If you trust your case to us, you won’t need any money to hire us. Your Cowen Edwards representative doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement Disney Cruise Line must pay you and your family.
Contact a Fort Lauderdale Disney Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer
It’s bad enough when an amazing vacation ends with a painful injury. It’s even worse when victims are left to struggle physically and financially with recovery alone.
Filing a claim for a cruise injury can be complicated, especially when you must ask a giant company like Walt Disney for help. Working with our experienced cruise accident lawyers at Cowen Edwards ensures your case is backed with evidence that even Disney won’t be able to cast doubt on.
Allow Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers to handle the stress and frustration of battling Disney’s insurance companies while you use that time to focus on healing. We want you to be able to afford the best care available so you can get back to vacationing and cruising as soon as possible. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation cruise accident consultation.