Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers is dedicated to protecting victims hurt on Princess 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 Princess Cruise?
If your injury suffered on a cruise is only minor, involving just bruises or soreness, you may not need a lawyer’s help for your case. However, if your injury is more serious, say you suffer a broken ankle or a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), you could need a Fort Lauderdale Cruise Lawyer to protect your interests.
Princess Cruises, and its parent company Carnival Cruise Line, won’t automatically help you with medical costs. In fact, as your medical bills stack up, they will fight harder to avoid accepting blame for your pain and recovery costs.
You may need a safeguard against their tactics to earn fair treatment. These are just a few protections a skilled lawyer represents:
- Earn you more. An experienced cruise ship accident lawyer can often win much more for your case than you could handling it yourself.
- Fully investigates your accident and secures evidence, even as cruise ships move in and out on tight schedules. Tracks down witnesses, even after they’ve returned home across the globe.
- Defends you from insurance tactics. When insurers and corporate lawyers try to blame your accident on you by saying you were clumsy, we present the evidence that proves otherwise. They may try to downplay your injuries simply to be able to offer you less in support. We back your claim with medical charts showing how long you’ve had to suffer. These tactics often leave you paying for part of your medical care out of pocket.
- Handles the frustrating negotiation with insurance companies so that you can focus on healing.
- Prepares you for a lawsuit if a cruise line won’t offer everything you require in an injury settlement.
Who Is Responsible If I Get Hurt on a Florida Cruise Ship Vacation?
Princess Cruise Line is responsible for more than just booking tickets and making money. It’s liable for the absolute 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.
According to California personal injury law, Princess Cruises would be responsible for the hazards their employees might create, and the dangers left behind by other passengers. That responsibility would extend outside the ship in certain cases, while passengers were on excursions or exploring ports of call. In some cases, tour businesses might also be liable.
If you or a family member are hurt in an accident that could have been prevented, 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.
These are just some of the types of accidents that cruise lines and associated businesses may be fully responsible for:
- Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall dangers in restaurants, spas, around pools, on stairwells, and gangways
- Accidents involving cruise ship activities and entertainment
- Injuries caused by a mistake by a crewmember
- 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 or while on an excursion in locations like the Bahamas or Princess Cays
- Negligent security accidents involving assaults committed by other passengers or attacks while exploring islands and cities
What to Do After a Cruise Accident
The best way to build a strong case is with strong evidence at the ready. Some of the best evidence will be there aboard ship, seconds after you’ve suffered an accident.
Call for medical attention first. Then, if you feel 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 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. Schedule a free consultation with 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.
Princess Cruise Accident
Passengers may suffer frightening accidents on any of several ships in the Princess Cruise fleet.
These are just a few of the ships that sail out of Port Everglades:
- Ruby Princess
- Majestic Princess
- Regal Princess
- Star Princess
- Sun Princess
After an accident affecting you or a family member, our Princess Cruise Accident Lawyers want to allow your family to focus on recovery. While you rest, we fight to make sure the medical costs and other expenses never have to come out of your pocket. You didn’t cause your accident and you should never be asked to pay the financial consequences.
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 Princess Cruises 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
It’s critical that every hardship is included in an accident claim. That includes the care that could be necessary in the years ahead for a long-term injury or even a debilitating permanent disability.
Every damage must be listed in a cruise ship accident claim, otherwise, Princess Cruises and its insurance providers can just ignore it. Then it becomes a cost that would be left to the victim’s family to pay out of pocket.
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.
- Additional support for injured children. If your child is hurt on a cruise, a young victim may require more financial support. That support should be in place to help a child down the road when old injuries may flare up as they develop and grow. The cost of future surgeries and physical therapy should be included in any settlement involving a child.
- Wrongful death benefits for families who lose a loved one to a cruise ship accident. Families should receive what they need to pay 100% of a funeral and all medical bills that still remain. A spouse or children of the victims must also be able to replace the income a loved one can no longer provide to support the family.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 a cruise line must pay you and your family.
Should I speak to the cruise line’s insurance representatives?
Only give basic information. Never provide a recorded statement about your accident. Adjusters take these over the phone in the hopes that you’ll say something they can twist to damage your case later. Politely decline and refer them to your lawyer. Your lawyer will handle all communications once you’ve hired legal representation.
Contact a Fort Lauderdale Princess Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer
If your cruise vacation ends in a serious accident, make sure Princess Cruises isn’t let off the hook for its negligence.
Allow Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers to handle the stress and frustration of battling a giant cruise vacation company 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.