evidence a cruise ship company has that needs to be obtained in a case to help establish the negligence of the company and achieve success on behalf of the injured passenger. Another very big restriction that has to be known is the existence of very special deadlines that apply in a cruise ship passenger case that most lawyers who do not handle maritime cases do not know about. For example, on the passenger ticket for the cruise – which is considered a contract under the law – there are important provisions that must be known because they are enforceable. One of them is a time deadline to give notice to the cruise line of the intent to assert a claim against the cruise line for negligence. The most important deadline is the statute of limitation deadline, which is one year to file the lawsuit from the date of the injury. If you fail to file the lawsuit within that oneyear period of time, you forever lose your right to file a lawsuit against the cruise ship company for your injury. These are just a couple of examples. Again, a maritime lawyer will know how to navigate around, above, or directly through these obstacles and restrictions. For a prospective client who is injured during a cruise, what first steps would you advise taking? If a cruise ship passenger is injured during a cruise, make sure to report it. Make sure the cruise line is aware of the accident. Take pictures. Get the names and contact information of any witnesses. Do not be pressured into filling out a statement about the accident if you do not feel that you are capable of adequately completing the accident report because you just suffered an accident. You should insist on waiting. It may also be appropriate to say “I want to take the form to my cabin and carefully prepare it so it is accurate”. If you have a cell phone that works from the cruise ship, and you are in doubt, you can reach out to an attorney. Our firm often receives text messages, emails and calls directly from the cruise ship from passengers who have suffered accidents asking questions how to handle the matter. 48 LAWYERMONTHLYMARCH 2023 Keep in mind that the cruise ship’s primary concern should be to rectify any hazards and to treat your medical problems properly, not to help them defend any potential lawsuit you may file later. You do not have to be interrogated or fill out a lot of details. You do not want to leave out key details, such as the fact that you slipped and fell on a slippery substance on the deck. But for the purposes of the initial encounter on the cruise ship following an accident, there is no requirement to give them detailed information about your accident. You simply need to report that you had an accident, and if you are injured you should seek medical treatment and give a brief description of what happened and your injuries. Oftentimes, the cruise ship employees, including the doctors are more interested in interrogating you to hopefully get you to say something that could be used against you later when you file a lawsuit. I always suggest that you not complete anything unless they guarantee you the ability to make a photocopy before you give it to them. Sometimes it may be appropriate to simply refuse to give a statement, although sometimes it can be used against you later in a lawsuit because it is trying to suggest you were hiding something. Cruise lines will often try to suggest that alcohol is the reason for your accident, so be careful of that. However, do not lie about drink consumption, because they do have records of the amount of drinks purchased on the cruise ship even though they are not able to accurately know if you actually consumed what was purchased. Again, it is hard to give hard and fast rules other than to say take pictures, gather as much evidence as you can, and understand that no matter how nice the cruise ship employees are being to you after your accident, their job is to gather information to help the cruise line defend any potential future lawsuit. Why is it vital to retain an attorney in the aftermath of an injury on a cruise? It is vital to get a maritime lawyer involved because of the very short statute of limitations and notice deadlines, and the fact that material evidence can disappear, including surveillance video that may have captured your accident or otherwise capture important evidence that will help establish liability of the cruise line. We immediately send out our representation It is vital to get a maritime lawyer involved because of the very short statute of limitations and notice deadlines.
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