Recently, I got an email from someone in New York asking if we represent people, namely cruise line passengers, who live out of state, in that case New York. The answer is YES!

The would-be client asked if she needed a New York attorney. The answer is NO!

At HICKEY LAW FIRM, P.A., we represent people, cruise line passengers, who live all over the United States and in fact the world. Why? How? THE BOTTOM LINE: You the passenger are required to file suit where the ticket requires, not where you live, not where you got on the ship. So, you need a maritime law specialist in the place where the ticket requires. If you sailed on a ship of Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, or Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, you are required to file the suit in Miami, Florida.

Writing a letter is not filing suit. Only filing suit will stop the clock on the time limit to file suit which usually is one year from the date of the accident. If you go beyond that limit without filing suit, you will be out of luck; you will have no claim. Only an attorney licensed to practice in Florida can file suit here. Only an attorney who knows maritime law-and who knows the cruise lines- should represent you and file suit against the cruise lines.

If you were a passenger on a cruise ship and were injured on the ship or on the tender going to or from shore, as a result of the negligence of the ship or cruise line or their employees, call us toll free today at: 1.800.215.7117. We will talk to you and all consultations are free.

We can help you and we are the ones who are qualified to help. We are here in Miami, Florida, the cruise line capital of the world and the place where most passengers will have to file suit.

I know. I used to represent the cruise lines, for 17 years. I am a maritime law specialist. I am the lawyer who your local lawyer will call for advice and help when the cruise lines deny your claim or refuse to settle with you.

Do not waste anymore time. Call us today. It is toll free: 1.800.215.7117. www.hickeylawfirm.com.

NTSB HOLDS HEARING ABOUT PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP TILTING

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a hearing about the cause of the accident where a Princess cruise ship tilted or listed on July 18, 2006. This is possibly a significant step in the resolution of this accident. The incident occurred when the cruise ship Crown Princess left Cape Canaveral on its way to Brooklyn, N.Y. This ship is owned and operated by Princess Cruise Lines which in turn is owned by Carnival Corporation which owns Carnival Cruise Lines.

About an hour after the Crown Princess left Port Canaveral, someone in the bridge disconnected the automatic pilot system. He then turned the ship and allowed it to list, i.e., tilt, to starboard, the right side. This list was 24 degrees which is huge. Imagine taking a 13 story building and leaning it over all of a sudden so that everything inside of it comes crashing to one side. The list threw chairs, couches, ice machines, lamps, furniture of all types, glasses, trays, food, hundreds if not thousands of passengers and crewmembers to one side of the ship. The people onboard were hit by and entangled with the wreckage. 298 passengers and crew suffered personal injuries. See more information about the hearing and about the NTSB at www.ntsb.gov.

Hickey Law Firm, P.A. represented many of the passengers who suffered personal injuries from this accident. See our website for information on what to do in the event of an injury in a cruise ship: www.hickeylawfirm.com. See also www.cruiseshipassault.com. The bottom line is get medical care immediately. Take photos, and document and report everything. This includes reporting it to the cruise line, taking photos, and going to your doctor and whatever specialist he/she sends you to.

Also, CALL HICKEY LAW FIRM, P.A., TOLL FREE AT: 1.800.215.7117. Our consultations are always free. We work on a contingency basis. Personal injury, wrongful death, sexual assaults, and medical malpractice. This all happens on cruise ships and we have handled these types of claims for 27 years.
Hickey Law Firm, P.A. is headed up by John H. (Jack) Hickey. Hickey was born and raised in the cruise line capital of the world, Miami, Florida. For the first 17 years of his career, Hickey represented the cruise lines and insurance companies. Now he represents you, the seriously injured, the family of a loved one who has died as a result of someone else’s negligence, the victim of a sexual assault, or the victim of medical malpractice.
Hickey is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Lawyer by The Florida Bar and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has been named by his peers as a “SUPERLAWYER” in the Superlawyer.com publication (the top 5% of all lawyers); as a “Top Lawyer in South Florida” in the areas of personal injury and maritime in the South Florida Legal Guide (2004 to present); and as a “Legal Elite” member in Florida Trend Magazine (2006) (top 1.7% of all lawyers). He is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Emerging Leaders in America. Hickey is rated A/V by Martindale Hubbell, the international directory of lawyers, a rating achieved by only 5% of all attorneys. CONTACT US AND SEE OUR RESULTS AT: www.hickeylawfirm.com and CALL US TOLL FREE AT 1.800.215.7117.

STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS: WHAT IS THIS AND WHEN DO I HAVE TO ACT?

I got a call the other day from an attorney in Pennsylvania. He said that his client was raped (“sexually assaulted”) on a cruise ship and that she-the client- had reported it to the FBI. So far, the client did what she should have done.

Then he said that the sexual assault took place about 2 ½ years ago. Oops. I told the lawyer that the one year statute of limitations in her ticket (the cruise line “passenger contract ticket”) had passed and there is nothing I could do now. It is too late to bring a claim.

The cruise lines have included in the fine print on all of the passenger tickets the terms under which you have to bring a claim against them. They say when (usually within one year of the accident or incident) and where (Miami, Florida if it is Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, or Celebrity Cruise Lines). By the way, in order to bring a claim in Florida, it is best to contact a Florida attorney. Each state licenses attorneys to practice only in that state.

Then I asked why she waited so long. He said that the passenger was told by the FBI agent investigating the rape that the statute of limitations was 3 years. Oh well. So much for advice from someone who is not a maritime lawyer. (It is true generally that the statute of limitations for maritime claims is 3 years. However, the cruise lines can limit that to one year, and of course they do in the ticket terms).

This is not meant to be legal advice or to explain everything about statutes of limitations or something you can rely on to determine what your statute of limitations is. To know about that, call a lawyer who knows about the field in which you have a claim.

But here are some of the concepts: The “statute of limitations” for a claim is a general term which means the time within which you have to file a lawsuit. First, it is not always expressed in a statute. Sometimes it is in a contract like a passenger ticket. And there are provisions in some statutes, commonly in medical malpractice statutes, that it starts (“begins to run”) from when you knew or should have known about the medical malpractice. This does not apply to claims for medical malpractice against the cruise lines.

Second, there are different periods of time or statutes of limitations for different types of claims, and the statute can be different in each state. Generally, for maritime seaman’s claims the statute is 3 years; for passengers it is 1 year. Generally, in Florida, for general negligence it is 4 years; for wrongful death it is 2 years; for medical malpractice it is 2 years; for product liability it is 2 years.

Third, the only way to stop the clock, beat the deadline, or as the law says “toll the statute” is to file a lawsuit. The clock is not stopped just by reporting the accident. You have to file suit. That means that you have to contact an attorney in time for him or her to evaluate and investigate the claim and to prepare and file a complaint in court. If you wait until the day the statute runs out or the day before it may be too late to do anything.

The best way to determine the statute of limitations is to call an attorney and to tell him or her about your case. The attorney will tell you. Do not rely on someone else or the internet or this blog even. Call the attorney’s office today. You can call us here at Hickey Law Firm, P.A. toll free at 1.800.215.7117. Barbara Hernandez, Karla Huertas, Sandy Talavera, Darby Mitchell, and attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey are here to take your call, get your information, and listen. Thanks.

Just one week before the Food and Drug Administration is to hold hearings on the safety of over the counter cough and cold medications for children, the industry has finally reacted. The cold medicine industry trade group, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, has announced that major drug manufacturers will pull off the market 14 cough and cold remedies for children. This is because what they did not tell you is that coughing can be good; it is the mechanism by which the body gets rid of mucous. If you inhibit coughing, you inhibit this mechanism and the mucous stays in the lungs. The results: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that about 1500 children across the nation were treated in emergency rooms for bad reactions to over the counter cough and cold medicines from 2004 to 2005. From 1969 to 2006, the FDA found at least 54 children died after taking decongestants, and 69 children died after taking antihistamines. That is a total death toll of 123. That means 123 wrongful deaths of children including infants. According to Dr. Peter Antevy, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, “This is a long time coming”.

The medicines include various medicines for children or infants under the names of Dimetapp, Little Colds, Pediacare, Robitussin, Triaminic, and Tylenol.