11 Cruise Ship Crew Members Arrested Over Child Sexual Abuse Material
Federal authorities arrested 11 cruise ship crew members in Boston during an operation targeting child sexual abuse material. The arrests took place between August 14 and 16, 2026, aboard Holland America Line’s Volendam and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Breakaway. The crew members were suspected of receiving and distributing child sexual abuse and exploitation material. What…
Read MoreRecent Florida Ruling Addresses Property Owner Liability to Independent Contractors
Property owners are not automatically protected from liability when an independent contractor is injured on their premises. In a June 24, 2026, decision, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal upheld a judgment for a contractor who was injured while installing an automatic door at a Walmart store. He received an electrical shock after touching a…
Read MoreJack Hickey Recertified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
Hickey Law Firm is proud to announce that firm founder John H. (Jack) Hickey has been recertified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). The recertification recognizes Jack’s continued trial experience, legal knowledge and commitment to the professional standards required of an NBTA board-certified attorney. What NBTA recertification means NBTA certification is a national…
Read MoreHickey Law Firm Partners Recognized in 2027 Best Lawyers in America®
Hickey Law Firm is proud to announce that three of its partners have been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Three Hickey Law Firm partners recognized The 2027 Best Lawyers list includes: John H. “Jack” Hickey: Admiralty and Maritime Law; Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs; and Personal Injury Litigation –…
Read MoreCosta Concordia Captain Found Guilty: Where Is Francesco Schettino Now?
Updated August 5, 2026 Netflix’s 2026 documentary Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea is now streaming. The film renewed interest in the Costa Concordia disaster and the criminal case against Francesco Schettino. Viewers can now see survivor and crew interviews, passenger footage and translated black box recordings to revisit the decisions that led to the collision and…
Read MoreResin Decks on Cruise Ships Can Be Hot and Dangerous
Pool decks on a cruise ship are expected to be warm. But what happens if they’re hot enough to burn passengers? Cruise lines often use resin or synthetic-teak decking because it is durable, attractive, customizable, and lower maintenance than traditional teak. However, these benefits may come at a cost to passengers as the decks can…
Read MoreDeadly New York Harbor Capsizing Raises Questions About Overcrowding and Boating Safety
A tragic boat accident in New York took the life of a young mother and her infant daughter on August 8, 2026. The incident took place when a 22-foot Yamaha speedboat capsized close to Liberty Island in New York Harbor. There were 14 people aboard the boat. Twelve were rescued, but 27-year-old Sara Sanchez and…
Read MoreHantavirus on a Cruise Ship: Safety, Transparency, and Passenger Rights
Reports of hantavirus on a cruise ship recently captured headlines worldwide. The MV Hondius is a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship, and the outbreak of the potentially deadly virus is raising questions about passenger safety at sea and about what cruise lines owe their passengers. According to the CDC, the outbreak involved the Andes virus. The…
Read MoreInternal Injuries from Motorcycle Accidents
Internal injuries are more common in motorcycle crashes. Sometimes, the most serious harm isn’t easy to see. That’s why it’s important for motorcycle accident victims to know the signs of internal injuries and understand their rights and legal options after an accident. Common types of internal injuries after a motorcycle crash Internal bleeding and hemorrhage…
Read MoreAnother South Florida Boating Explosion Leaves Multiple People Injured
On the afternoon of May 9, a reported boat explosion in Miami-Dade County severely injured several on board. The boat, a charter vessel in Biscayne Bay close to the Haulover Sandbar, sent multiple people to local hospitals. Boating accidents are not a new phenomenon in the Sunshine State. This recent incident serves as yet another…
Read MoreBiscayne Bay Boating Accident Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured
Around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2026, a boat lost control in Biscayne Bay and killed 33-year-old Claudia Balmaseda Orellanes of Coral Gables. The driver of the 27-foot boat the victim was traveling in was 54-year-old Neil D. Schwabe from Coconut Grove. Schwabe and Balmaseda Orellanes were near the Nixon Beach Sandbar when they…
Read MoreWhat to Do After a Boating Accident: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide
In 2024, nearly 400 Floridians were injured in boating accidents, amounting to an average injury rate of 39 per 100,000 registered vessels. While boating might be a fun pastime for Sunshine State residents of all ages, it’s important to recognize the very real risks associated with this popular activity. Whether you’re cruising down one of…
Read MoreHow Long Could My Miami Truck Accident Case Take to Settle or Resolve?
We know when you’re hurting after a truck crash in Miami, every day without money makes life harder. Medical bills start to pile up, you might be unable to work, and daily expenses don’t stop just because you’re injured. It’s understandable to want financial relief in this situation. While everyone hopes these cases wrap up…
Read MoreWrongful Death Claims in Fatal Boating Accidents
Any boat accident or crash in “navigable waters” is governed by maritime law. “Navigable waters” is almost everything in Florida outside of a small inland bound lake. “Navigable waters” is any body of water which is capable of commercial activity. That includes all of the canals which go out to a bay or gulf, any…
Read MoreAnother Hit-and-Run in Miami Highlights the Dangers on South Florida’s Waterways
Boating accidents which happen in any navigable water are governed by maritime law. So call a maritime specialist who is also a trial lawyer. As of April 2026, authorities have made multiple arrests in separate hit-and-run cases, including a jet ski collision near Miami Marine Stadium and a fatal hit-and-run in Miami Beach. These two…
Read MoreAmy Lynn Bradley: 28 Years Later, a Cruise Ship Mystery Still Raises Serious Safety Questions
Almost three decades have passed since Amy Lynn Bradley, then 23, disappeared from a Royal Caribbean International cruise. Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to her discovery. This development comes after a Netflix docuseries covered the still unsolved mystery. While the disturbing disappearance continues to…
Read MoreBoat Identified in Fatal Biscayne Bay Hit-and-Run That Killed Miami Father, Injured Son
On the evening of March 25, 2026, a vessel described as a large 40-43-foot four-engine cabin cruiser struck a 7-foot inflatable dinghy carrying a father and his 14-year-old son in Meloy Channel, Biscayne Bay, near Miami Beach. The larger vessel fled the scene after the impact. The two occupants of the inflatable dinghy were rushed…
Read MoreRIDESHARE SEXUAL ASSAULTS – UBER ON TRIAL
Uber Executive Admits Company Has “Not Done Enough” to Prevent Sexual Assaults in its Vehicles In the closely watched federal bellwether trial over Uber’s sexual assault liability, an Uber executive admitted that the company had fallen short on protecting passenger safety. During the multidistrict litigation involving thousands of cases, Uber’s Chief Product Officer, Sachin Kansal,…
Read MoreNegligence
What is it? But they didn’t mean to do it, they didn’t intend to hurt anyone. Do I still have a case? Negligence is not acting reasonably and you cause injury to someone. That is it. It does not require any intent, ill will, malice, or anger on the part of the person who caused…
Read MoreUnderstanding Wrongful Death Lawsuits After a Drowning Accident in Florida
We are sorry for your immense loss. After you lose someone, you’re undoubtedly going to be faced with significant expenses and losses. You shouldn’t have to handle these on your own. This is a short primer on wrongful death lawsuits after a drowning accident in Florida. What is wrongful death in Florida? Wrongful death in…
Read MoreRoyal Caribbean Death: Overservice, Negligent Restraint, and a Preventable Tragedy at Sea
News outlets are reporting about another cruise-ship related tragedy – a 35-year-old father who was served an unreasonable amount of alcohol before tragically dying aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. The fatal incident occurred in December 2024, when Michael Virgil was on a cruise with his fiancée and the couple’s son. This shocking incident…
Read MoreHickey Law Firm Partners Honored with Miami-Dade Bar Circle of Excellence Awards
Hickey Law Firm is honored to announce that two of our partners, Sarah A. Lobel and Lisa C. Goodman, have been recognized by the Miami-Dade Bar for two different categories of the 2025 Miami-Dade Bar Circle of Excellence Awards. Sarah Lobel was recognized in the area of Personal Injury. Lisa Goodman was recognized in the…
Read MoreTragic Kendall Canal Jet Ski Accident Claims Life of 20-Year-Old Man
A fatal personal-watercraft incident in Kendall, Florida took the life of a 20-year-old man, identified by his friends as Giancarlo Gonzalez. This tragedy is sadly, not unique. It underscores the dangers of personal-watercraft accidents on South Florida waterways. Timeline of the incident The incident happened on Friday evening, Sept 26, 2025. According to estimates, it…
Read MoreVictims Identified in Florida Turnpike Crash That Killed Three
A truck driver is facing three counts of manslaughter after a crash on the Florida Turnpike that killed three people. NBC Miami reports that Harjinder Singh “faces three counts of vehicular homicide in the crash that happened when he allegedly tried to make an illegal U-turn on the Turnpike near mile marker 170 on Aug.…
Read MoreFBI Investigates Death of Florida Teen on Carnival Horizon, Raising Serious Cruise Line Safety Concerns
A Florida teen died this week while traveling on board the Carnival Horizon ship. Now, reports indicate that the FBI’s Miami office is investigating the death. At the Hickey Law Firm, our Miami-based, nationally recognized attorneys handle cruise ship injury and wrongful-death cases when tragedies take place at sea. Cruise lines have responsibilities toward passengers.…
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