If your cruise excursion caused you or your loved one to suffer an injury, and you want to get compensation for the suffering, the first thing you need to do is to establish liability. There can be one or more parties liable for a cruise excursion injury. In most cases, it is best to consult with an attorney to determine liability. For a basic understanding of who is liable for cruise excursion injury, please continue reading.
Liability of the Cruise Line
In some cases, the cruise line runs their excursion. In other cases, the excursions are operated by a third party. The liability of the cruise excursion injury depends on who had the “duty of care” for the safety of the customers. Generally, the cruise line itself is only liable for the excursion accident if it operated the excursion.
A cruise line can be held liable for exposing their customers to dangers if it can be proven that they did not follow standard procedures to vet the excursion company. This might be challenging to prove, but it is possible with an experienced attorney on your side. It would help your case if you can show that the cruise line had a history of causing injuries to their customers.
Liability of Excursion Company
Most cases of excursion injury cases are against the excursion operators. They can be held directly responsible for the physical and emotional suffering of the victims. You can also have the excursion company as the primary defendant and the cruise line as the secondary defendant.
In some cases, the cruise line asks their passengers to file a waiver form before participating in the excursion. The content of the waiver form could be vital to your case and to establish the liability for the injuries. Therefore it is important that you carefully read the waiver form before signing to ensure you are not signing anything that would undermine your rights.
Filing Claim Outside the U.S.
The laws governing a cruise excursion injury can get complicated if the event that led to the injury happened in international waters or a foreign port. The applicable laws and regulations applicable to your case depend on who has jurisdiction over the case. In case of an accident that happened in a port, it is likely that the local law enforcement agencies will have jurisdiction over the case and will investigate the case.
Get Legal Advice from an Experienced Attorney
You have the right to pursue compensation for your cruise excursion injury. Maritime law is known to be highly complicated, and it is best to seek legal advice from an experienced attorney. Seek legal representation for shore excursion accident claims from an attorney who has experience in similar cases and has the necessary resources to represent you in international courts. They should also help you in gathering evidence for the case. Ask the law firm to share their largest verdicts and settlements for similar cases.