Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
At least two people were injured when the golf cart they had rented while docked in Turks and Caicos was hit by another vehicle.
The incident happened Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, on Grand Turk when a cruise ship was docked on the island, allowing passengers to explore. The couple was traveling with the cruise line when they rented a golf cart on land and were struck by another vehicle.
The driver involved in this incident was allegedly charged with reckless driving, according to Cruise News Today.
The couple was able to return to the ship before sail away and say they were fortunate the injuries were not worse,” Doug Parker with Cruise News today said.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling motor vehicle crash cases, medical malpractice, negligent security and premises liability cases. With a homebase in Miami, Florida, a city with the world’s largest cruise port, Leesfield & Partners has had the opportunity to represent countless victims of cruise ship negligence.
In that time, the firm has secured multiple record settlements and verdicts for injured clients and their grieving families. The firm has handled premises liability and negligent security cases on cruise ships, medical malpractice cases involving inadequate cruise doctors, and shore excursion injury cases. Over the years, Leesfield & Partners has developed expansive cruise ship litigation experience, building a reputation as some of the most aggressive and indefatigable attorneys available, known for their commitment to their clients. Attorneys with the firm will pursue the best possible outcome for all clients.
Shore Excursion Injuries and Premises Liability Cases
As common carriers, cruise ships have a non-delegable duty to ensure the safety of those on board. This means that cruise lines have a greater responsibility and are held to a higher standard of care where passenger safety is concerned. It is the cruise line’s duty to take reasonable precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of those on board, meaning they must ensure that the ship is free of hazards, like a loose bolt that may give way on a balcony or a slippery floor that could result in a passenger’s painful fall.
While ticket contracts may limit some aspects of liability, such as the filing timeframes associated with filing a personal injury claim, they cannot fully erase the cruise line’s responsibility as a common carrier. Operating as a common carrier also means that a cruise line could be held vicariously liable for the actions of a crew member. This can include a crew member’s negligence in alerting passengers to a present hazard, negligent supervision or even the criminal acts of that crew member.
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.
Our attorneys settled the case for $7.25 million.
The firm 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.
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.
In an ongoing cruise ship injury case being handled by Bernardo Pimentel II, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, our client suffered significant emotional trauma when it was revealed she was among a group of passengers filmed in their private cabin bathrooms. The footage was taken by a crew member who had unfettered access to the passengers’ rooms and planted a hidden camera. In addition to our client, the victims who were filmed included minors.
That crew member was sentenced to three decades in prison for producing child sex abuse material.
That case is ongoing.
In another devastating instance in which a crew member abused their employee status for their own, sick gain, includes a case in which a Canadian tourist was raped in her cabin by a member of the ship’s crew. The crew member in that case used his employee keycard to gain access to the woman’s cabin.
The firm recovered a multi-million amount for the woman in that case.
