Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
At least two separate fights broke out recently in Nassau, Bahamas, resulting in at least five cruise passenger arrests, according to Cruise News Today.
The first incident occurred at Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island Beach Club with children and families nearby. More than a dozen guests were seen in videos online tussling by the edge of a pool. Multiple security guards can be seen in the video trying to break up the fight.
Additional information, including what started the altercation, whether anyone was injured, or whether there will be any arrests, was not immediately available on Tuesday, June 16.
The second incident resulted in the arrest of at least five passengers also in Nassau, Bahamas.
Doug Parker, the host of the popular Cruise News Today vlog, questioned whether his viewers thought there should be a “no sail” list for passengers involved in such altercations. Many viewers left comments agreeing with the suggestion of such a list with one adding that violators should “be held accountable for their actions …”
While there is no centralized, industry-wise “no sail” list, many cruise lines operate their own internal bans for reasons such as violence.
Leesfield & Partners
With five decades of experience, Leesfield & Partners has seen every manner of onboard injury and all the ways in which cruise ships will attempt to escape liability. With nearly five decades of experience, our skilled trial attorneys have handled injury cases involving excruciating falls, medical malpractice at the hands of inadequately trained medical staff, horrific excursion cases, assaults and other onboard injuries. Our attorneys consistently work to achieve the best possible outcome for every client.
Modern cruise ships can accommodate thousands of passengers simultaneously. As the industry continues to grow and recover from a shutdown in 2020 due to the pandemic, cruise lines have begun to compete with one another to attract the highest number of passengers. With teetering waterslides, expanding fleets and the debut of mega-ships, the cruise industry has entered a period of rapid, lucrative expansion. But with more passengers on board comes a corresponding increase in potential injuries.
In an article that was published last year addressing the rise in cruise ship crime, Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, attributed the trend to the surge in passenger numbers. However, despite this, he emphasized that cruise lines remain responsible for ensuring passenger safety.
“That’s just kind of a one in a long series of why there’s more sexual abuse and sexual activity on the ships, and I think your question is why? And I think the answer that I see is very lax policing, and very lax training, because a lot of the people … are crew members. This guy was a crew member,” he said.
Previous Onboard Injury Cases
Leesfield & Partners previously represented a Canadian woman who was traveling on a cruise ship when she was horrifically raped. The woman was in her cabin alone when a member of the ship’s crew abused his employee status and used a keycard to access the woman’s room where he attacked her.
The firm secured a multi-million-dollar amount for the woman in that case.
The firm recovered $2.5 million for a 9-year-old who collided with an unpadded steel grommet while diving for an out-of-bounds ball as he played on a ship’s basketball court. The child in that case suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a result on the traumatic incident.
Similarly, the firm represented a man, 62, who was injured while playing pickleball aboard his cruise ship. The firm settled the case for $500,000.
The firm obtained a confidential settlement for a family devastated by the tragic loss of their young daughter. In that case, the child was separated from her family aboard a ship when she leaned over a poorly designed cruise ship railing and fell five stories to her death.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm, is representing a woman who suffers extreme trauma and emotional turmoil after it was revealed she was one among numerous passengers, including children, whose privacy was violated when a crew member planted hidden cameras in their cabins.
That crew member was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child sex abuse material.
That case is ongoing.
Previous Excursion Injury Cases
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented the family of mother and daughter who booked a parasailing adventure on their cruise ship. While out on the excursion, and suspended hundreds of feet in the air, a piece of equipment snapped and sent the two falling into the water.
The mother was killed, and her daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury. The cruise ship attempted to distance itself from the excursion operators and claimed that they were an independent contractor, however, Leesfield & Partners attorneys were able to disprove this theory by demonstrating that the ship marketed the excursion and offered tickets for sale on board.
The firm settled the case for $7.25 million.
Leesfield & Partners represented a family whose son, a special needs man, died following a crash on a cruise ship excursion. In that case, the bus careened off a cliff on a cruise-sponsored shore excursion. The son was ejected and died in front of his family.
The firm settled the case for $2,990,000.
A rollover ATV crash on a shore excursion caused serious injuries to multiple passengers. Leesfield & Partners settled the case for over $1.2 million.
Our 68-year-old client sustained severe injuries, including a fractured femur, when thrown off a “banana boat” during a cruise’s water sport excursion. The firm secured a $600,000 settlement in that case.
