WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU MAKE PLANS TO ESCAPE THE COLD AND BOOK A CRUISE VACATION
The Chicago personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll read the disturbing news that meteorologists at Accuweather are predicting that Chicago will get 50 to 60 inches of snow this winter. Sounds like a good time to start planning a vacation, but before you do so, please understand your rights as it relates to cruise ships.
After reading Handling Cruise Line Passenger Claims (Gerry McGill, Trial Lawyer, Summer 2011), our personal injury attorneys were concerned that cruise line passengers were not aware of the special considerations that cruise lines benefit from in the event that a passenger becomes injured. Typically, if you are injured on while on a cruise, General Maritime (or Admiralty) law will govern your case. However, cruise lines enjoy limits to their liability for passenger injury, which many passengers may not understand. In fact, cruise lines are permitted to include a line in their tickets that limits the time that an injured person has to file a claim to one year. Many cruise lines also add a line requiring the injured person to provide detailed notification of a claim within six months of the incident, or else the claim could be barred. Many cruise line passengers do not pay attention to the fine print before booking a vacation.
Another common fine print limitation: the venue (or location) where a passenger may file suit. Regardless of where you boarded the ship, most cruise lines designate Dade County, Florida, certain federal district courts, Los Angeles, California, or Seattle, Washington as the forum for filing a lawsuit against a cruise line. Knowing that many passengers do not live in these areas, cruise line CEOs are succeeding in making it as difficult as possible for passengers to sue.
But, the truth is, people do suffer injuries while on cruises, from slips and falls to injuries during excursions and even ship emergencies like fires and collisions. Vacationers are not shielded from injury. Knowing your options if and when an injury occurs is a good idea. The Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog will provide more tips on cruise line lawsuits in the upcoming days.
The Chicago personal injury and settlement attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll can help you if you have been injured on any type of watercraft, including a cruise ship, Jet-Skis, speedboats and other personal watercraft, as well as riverboats and commercial vessels. Our injury attorneys have extensive experience handling accidents that occurred on waterways. Jeffrey J. Kroll is the former Chair for the Admiralty and Maritime Section of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Our personal injury lawyers have won multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for our personal injury and wrongful death clients. Contact us at (312) 676-7222, or fill out our contact form to set up a personal consultation. An experienced personal injury attorney will discuss your accident with you and evaluate your legal options.
