Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers is dedicated to protecting victims hurt on Holland America 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 Cruise?
If you suffer a serious injury while on a cruise, you may need a lawyer to handle your case. It’s the best way to ensure you get the full support you’ll need to pay for recovery. Something like a broken bone or a head injury could leave you with massive hospital bills and lost time at work. A cruise line and its insurers will fight extra hard to avoid having to accept responsibility. You could need a Fort Lauderdale Cruise Lawyer to protect your interests.
Holland America and its parent company, Carnival Cruise Line, are massive and they have the resources to employ teams of lawyers. These lawyers will be paid to find ways to blame your accident on you or convince you to sign off on a low-ball settlement offer.
Don’t worry, Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers will be investigating what happened, securing all evidence, and building a strong case even a cruise line will have a tough time rejecting. We’ll seek the maximum in compensation possible for you and your family.
Who Is Responsible If I Get Hurt on a Florida Cruise Ship Vacation?
A cruise line’s lawyers and their insurers will likely try to convince you that they aren’t liable for your injuries. Under Florida’s personal injury laws, that’s simply not true. All businesses that welcome in guests have a “duty of care” to protect customers, clients, and all visitors.
Holland America is responsible for providing a safe ship. Their rooms, restaurants, pools, and entertainment halls should all be free of accident risks. Just as important, cruise lines must protect passengers from the hazards other passengers may create. Crew members must monitor the entire ship for dangers that may arise and clean up or repair those hazards in a reasonable amount of time.
If someone is allowed to get hurt aboard the ship or at a destination, victims are empowered to file a personal injury claim and ask for help with every recovery expense.
A cruise ship vacation company could be fully liable for these dangers and more:
- Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall dangers in restaurants, spas, around pools, on stairwells, and gangways
- Accidents involving cruise ship activities and entertainment
- Falls overboard
- Violent ship motions caused by turbulent seas
- Respiratory issues
- Cuts on sharp edges
- Burns
- Falling objects
- Food poisoning
- Exposure to viruses
- An accident at a port-of-call
- Negligent security accidents involving assaults committed by other passengers or attacks while exploring islands and cities
- Injuries while on excursions like snorkeling trips and tours of Mayan ruins
Injuries occurring in port-of-calls and on excursions may be the fault of several parties. Holland America may be partially or fully liable. The tour group may also have to contribute to an injured guest’s recovery costs. Getting hurt at a business
Your attorney would determine every party that could be held liable and in some cases file claims with multiple companies. Including every company at fault is sometimes the best way for victims to ensure all of their damages are covered.
Getting Evidence After a Holland America Cruise Accident
Passengers may suffer frightening accidents on several ships in the Holland America fleet.
These are just a few of the ships that sail out of Port Everglades:
- Nieuw Statendam
- Nieuw Amsterdam
- Eurodam
- Rotterdam
Getting evidence from one of these ships as they arrive and depart from port with quick turnarounds can be difficult. Witnesses can be hard to track down. It’s important to allow a skilled professional to handle the investigation of your case and the request for certain evidence, including surveillance footage, from Holland America.
You can help build a strong case by taking action shortly after your accident. On the scene, if you are injured, call for medical help. Then, if it’s safe and you feel up to it, try to secure some key details. Use your cell phone to take photos of the obstacle that caused your accident. Take a photo of your injury if it is visible. Show even redness or a bruise to illustrate what happened.
Get contact information from witnesses. Make sure it’s thorough contact info because once passengers leave the ship to go home, they’ll be headed in a lot of different directions and possibly other countries.
You should also alert crewmembers. They’ll create an incident report for their parent corporation. This report can serve as evidence in your favor. See your own doctor when you get back home. Alert your doctor about what happened and have your injury and any new pain that’s arisen checked out.
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 Holland America 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 may make a huge difference in your case. At Cowen Edwards Trial Attorneys we can represent any injury victim on any cruise ship anywhere out of Florida.
Finding Support for Cruise Ship Accident Victims
Cruise accident victims must hold those at fault fully liable for injuries they suffer. 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, Holland America 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 cruise 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of things can I be compensated for after a cruise ship accident?
Victims should expect help with all their medical bills and help paying for any future care necessary. They must get reimbursed for the time they miss at their jobs. They should also receive support for the physical pain and emotional trauma a major injury can cause in someone’s life.
What if my child is injured on a Holland America 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 Holland America is accountable for every need a child victim has in the future.
Can my family expect support if a loved one is killed on a Holland America Cruise?
Yes. Families receive support through a wrongful death claim for expenses like a funeral and burial, and any medical bill left behind. Families can also seek compensation for the income a deceased victim can no longer support close relatives with.
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.
Contact a Fort Lauderdale Holland America Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer
If your cruise vacation ends in a serious accident, make sure Holland America isn’t let off the hook for its negligence.
Allow Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers to handle the stress and frustration of battling Holland America 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.
If you trust your case to us, you won’t need any money to hire our services. Your Cowen Edwards representative doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement a Cruise Line must pay you and your family.