Tampa Cruise Ship Accident Lawyers

Tampa cruise ship injury FAQs

What is a cruise passenger ticket contract, and why does it matter after an injury?

Whether you realized it at the time or not, purchasing a passenger ticket also means that you are agreeing to the terms of the cruise line’s contract. The passenger ticket contract contains legal terms that control certain aspects of cruise-related injury claims, including important factors like notice deadlines, the location you can file, and which law applies to your case. If you’re wondering whether these contracts are binding, the answer is typically yes. If passengers had a reasonable opportunity to review them, the terms would stand – even if you never actually took the time to read the fine print. These factors will significantly impact your case, so you need to have a maritime lawyer review the ticket contract as soon as possible.

Where do I have to file a lawsuit if I’m injured on a cruise departing Tampa?

The odds are you’ll need to file your claim in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami). The ticket contract likely requires this venue, even if your cruise departed from Tampa. Since these terms in the contract tend to be binding, you’ll have to file where the ticket requires you to, regardless of where the accident took place or where you live.

How long do I have to file a cruise ship injury lawsuit?

The deadline for filing a cruise ship injury lawsuit is shorter than in typical personal injury cases in Florida. Many cruise ticket contracts require passengers to:

• Provide written notice of the injury within six months, and
• File a lawsuit within one year of the date of the incident.

Florida allows personal injury claims for up to two years, but don’t expect that deadline to apply if your injury was on a cruise ship. Courts will enforce the shorter deadlines under federal maritime law. If you wait too long, your delay can prevent you from recovering any compensation. The sooner you speak with a maritime attorney, the better. Not only can this give you more time to collect and preserve evidence, but it will also help avoid losing your claim for procedural reasons like timing.

What happens if I was injured on a cruise ship in international waters?

If an injury occurs while a cruise ship is sailing in international waters, the case is typically governed by federal maritime law. Here, the cruise line’s passenger ticket contract will likely determine how you can proceed. Determining the correct law, court, and deadlines can be complicated, but if you get in touch with us, we can walk you through everything and explain how the law may apply in your specific case.

Are cruise lines responsible for injuries during shore excursions?

In some cases, they can be. Unfortunately, passengers are often injured during shore excursions such as snorkeling trips, zipline tours, boat rides, or sightseeing tours that they arrange during a cruise. It’s not uncommon for the cruise lines to argue that these excursions aren’t under their control, and that the operators are independent third-party companies. The thinking is that the cruise line is not responsible for what happens off the ship in the care of a third-party. However, cruise lines may still be liable in certain situations. When the cruise line negligently selects unsafe excursion operators, fails to warn passengers about known dangers, or misrepresents the safety of an excursion in its marketing materials, this can result in the cruise line bearing some liability. Your lawyer will need to review the excursion agreements, ticket contract terms, and the relationship between the cruise line and the excursion provider to determine how this might play out in your injury claim.