Jacksonville Cruise Ship Sexual Assault Lawyer
Cruise ship sexual assault claims | JAXPORT Cruise Terminal
In 2025, over 200,000 passengers embarked on cruises at the JAXPORT cruise terminal. This port accounts for just a portion of the total cruise passenger volume we see across the state of Florida, with millions of travelers passing through our state every year on their way to or from their vessel of choice.
As the number of cruise passengers worldwide continues to increase, cruise lines, travelers, and safety advocates must give serious thought to the potential safety risks associated with this form of travel. While cruise passengers hope – and may even assume – that their vacation will be a source of joy and relaxation, crime is still a serious concern aboard cruise ships and at foreign ports.
Sexual assault and rape are some of the most commonly reported cruise ship crimes. Survivors of these tragic incidents are often left suffering long-term physical, emotional, and financial harm, leading some to pursue civil sexual assault claims against certain liable parties. If you were sexually assaulted on a cruise that departed from the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal, you may be entitled to compensation from your attacker or any other party that caused or contributed to your suffering.
At Hickey Law Firm, we help clients understand the legal implications of various crimes that take place on cruise ships. We are committed to supporting survivors of cruise ship sexual assaults in their efforts to pursue compensation – even when the process gets complicated. At Hickey Law Firm, cases like these are handled by maritime law specialists, such as our founder, Jack Hickey, a triple Board-Certified attorney, including in Admiralty & Maritime Law. Contact us to learn more about our work with survivors of cruise ship sexual assault in Florida and across the country.
WAS A LAWYER FOR THE CRUISE LINES. NOW A LAWYER FOR YOU ®
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does a civil sexual assault claim work?
- Who to sue in a cruise ship sexual assault?
- What makes a cruise-related sexual assault claim different?
- Can you sue a cruise line for sexual assault?
- What damages are available in a civil sexual assault claim?
- What evidence can support a cruise ship sexual assault claim?
- Why choose Hickey Law Firm
- Speak with a Jacksonville cruise ship sexual assault lawyer today
How does a civil sexual assault claim work?
Many people who are already familiar with the process of prosecuting a sexual assault or rape case in criminal court are surprised to learn that these cases can also be pursued through civil litigation. Civil and criminal sexual assault cases work differently, and they usually have different objectives. Criminal cases are brought by prosecutors against alleged offenders and aim to impose consequences for any established violations of the law.
Civil sexual assault cases, on the other hand, are brought by survivors. Individual perpetrators may be the target of these claims, but other responsible entities could face civil litigation if they caused or contributed to an assault. Plaintiffs in these cases don’t have the ability to impose criminal penalties like jail time upon an at-fault party. Instead, the claimant’s goal is usually to recover compensation for certain reasonable losses related to their assault.
Crucially, these legal systems function separately from one another. A survivor can – in many cases – file a civil lawsuit against an alleged assailant even if the case was never tried in criminal court. In fact, survivors can pursue civil litigation against liable parties even if they never reported their assault to law enforcement. While having a criminal conviction on the record can strengthen or support a civil claim, it is still possible to fight for compensation without one.
WHEN PEOPLE NEED A SPECIALIST IN LIFE CHANGING INJURIES,
PEOPLE CHOOSE HICKEY LAW FIRM.
Who to sue in a cruise ship sexual assault?
Cruise passengers would sue the cruise line for the assault or rape by crewmembers. Under the maritime law, the cruise lines are responsible for the actions, even these intentional actions of its crewmembers.
In some cases, survivors may also be within their rights to seek compensation from other parties that caused or contributed to their assault. These claims can be a bit more difficult to build because they typically depend on determinations of negligence. That means you’d need to show that the party in question owed you a legal duty of care and caused you identifiable harm by breaching that duty. If you can show that another entity enabled your assault or that a third party’s actions exacerbated the harm you suffered in the aftermath, you may be able to build a civil claim against them.
What makes a cruise-related sexual assault claim different?
Cruise ship sexual assault claims share some features with other civil sexual assault cases, but there are some additional considerations involved in these claims. On land, jurisdiction in a sexual assault case usually depends on where the incident occurred. On a cruise ship, it’s not always this straightforward. Over the course of a cruise itinerary, passengers may pass through multiple jurisdictions, spend time on international waters, or dock in foreign ports. This can make it difficult for survivors to identify the appropriate channel for reporting an assault or filing a claim.
Cruise ticket contracts often provide some clarity around these questions. They may specify where certain civil claims must be filed or outline deadlines and procedures that could affect a survivor’s lawsuit. An experienced cruise ship sexual assault lawyer can help their clients interpret the fine print of these contracts and pursue legal action in the appropriate venue.
These cases can also be hard to investigate because cruise ships are very insular environments. Internal security teams are often tasked with investigating reports of misconduct, but their protocols may not adequately preserve evidence or yield the same kinds of information that an outside law enforcement investigation would. All of this can make a cruise-related sexual assault claim more procedurally complicated than a civil claim and – in certain cases – can even compromise a survivor’s ability to pursue litigation once they disembark.
Can you sue a cruise line for sexual assault?
It depends. Just because a sexual assault takes place on a cruise ship doesn’t necessarily mean the cruise line can be held accountable. To hold the company civilly liable, you’d have to be able to show that your assault – or the harm it caused you – was the result of the cruise line’s failure to exercise reasonable care for your safety and wellbeing.
Sometimes, this looks like a failure to follow policies and procedures that would have mitigated safety risks. Other times, it looks like taking insufficient or haphazard care when investigating or reporting a disclosed incident. Bottom line: if the cruise line had notice of a risk and failed to take reasonable steps to address it or to properly address it after the fact but failed to do so, you may be within your rights to pursue a claim against it.
Examples of cruise line negligence
There’s no universal definition for what constitutes negligence on the part of a cruise line. Instead, these determinations are usually made in context, and they depend heavily on the facts of a case.
Here are a few scenarios that could lead to a cruise line being held liable for certain damages related to an onboard sexual assault:
- Failure to install security cameras in high-risk areas
- Understaffing security personnel
- Insufficient vetting of prospective crew members
- Failure to address past complaints of misconduct levied against passengers or crew members
- Overserving passengers in a way that contributes to intoxication and creates a foreseeable risk of harm, including impaired capacity to consent
- Mishandling evidence after a report of sexual assault
There are likely plenty of other scenarios that could rise to the standard of corporate negligence in a cruise ship sexual assault case. It comes down to a question of whether a cruise line’s actions or inactions directly contributed to the occurrence or impact of an assault. When the evidence supports a claim of corporate negligence, survivors may be able to sue for compensation from the cruise line itself.
What damages are available in a civil sexual assault claim?
One of the benefits of pursuing civil litigation for a cruise ship sexual assault is the ability to recover compensation for economic and non-economic losses related to the incident. Economic losses are things like actual expenses and projected long-term costs associated with an assault. For example, many plaintiffs in these cases pursue compensation for things like medical bills, therapy costs, lost wages, and reduced lifetime earning potential.
Sexual assault can have a profound impact on more than a survivor’s financial security. Survivors often suffer a wide variety of intangible losses that aren’t always easy to quantify. These may include things like emotional trauma, pain and suffering, and a loss of enjoyment in life. The non-economic impact of an assault can last for years and can be a source of other losses in the long-run.
An experienced cruise ship sexual assault lawyer can help their clients calculate the value of their economic and non-economic losses. Some professionals even partner with experts like life care planners and economists to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the long-term costs associated with an assault.
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What evidence can support a cruise ship sexual assault claim?
If you decide to file a civil lawsuit against your assailant or pursue civil litigation against a negligent cruise line, you’ll need to come prepared with compelling evidence. Collecting evidence in a sexual assault case can be complicated even in more straightforward situations. On a cruise ship, however, things can get even more challenging.
In the immediate aftermath of a cruise ship sexual assault, survivors may have access only to onboard medical care and internal reporting systems, which can be more limited than the resources available on land. Cruise ships often have their own onboard infirmaries, but their capabilities may not be on par with traditional emergency rooms. Similarly, a cruise ship’s security team does not function the same way as outside law enforcement and may have different authority, tools, and investigative resources at its disposal. As a result, cruise security teams may conduct initial internal investigations and coordinate with outside law enforcement, but time isn’t always on their side.
If an assault takes place on international waters, it could take a significant amount of time before outside medical professionals or law enforcement teams can get meaningfully involved. Along the way, certain evidence components can become compromised or overlooked. Physical evidence can degrade, and records of communications may be lost while moving through areas with limited cell service.
A cruise ship accident lawyer can help streamline the evidence-gathering process to some extent. These professionals can send formal preservation requests to cruise lines and operators to prevent evidence from being overwritten or altered. Experienced attorneys can also provide assault victims with guidance about how to begin the process of documenting their assault and creating a paper trail that could support their claim when they get back on solid ground.
Why choose Hickey Law Firm
Hickey Law Firm is the world’s preeminent law firm for cruise passengers. John H. (Jack) Hickey represented the cruise lines for the first 20 years of his practice. Now he represents passengers in their claims against the cruise line. Hickey and all of the lawyers at Hickey Law Firm specialize in maritime law and representing passengers. Hickey is Board Certified in Admiralty & Maritime Law by The Florida Bar. Hickey is Board Certified as a trial lawyer by the Florida Bar and nationally by the National Board of Trial Advocates (NBTA).
Cruise passengers are required to file suit for a claim where the cruise ticket requires. Even though Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line ships sail out of Jacksonville, Florida, the ticket contracts for both of those cruise lines says that they have to file suit in Miami, Florida. That means that even if you were assaulted or raped on a ship which sailed out of Jacksonville, you have to file suit in Miami. Hickey Law Firm is in Miami. This is what we do.
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Speak with a Jacksonville cruise ship sexual assault lawyer today
If you were sexually assaulted on a cruise that departed from the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal, you may have legal options to help you hold the responsible parties accountable. These cases can be complicated and emotionally taxing, but survivors have resources available to support them in whatever course of action they may choose.
At Hickey Law Firm, we believe that cruise lines should be held accountable when they cause or contribute to an onboard sexual assault. As an integral part of Florida’s local economy, we think that everyone stands to benefit when survivors exercise their rights and use their voices.
To learn more about your legal options following a cruise ship sexual assault, give us a call today or fill out our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with a member of our team. We are standing by to learn more about your case and provide you with the information and support you need to move forward with confidence.