Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
One moment, a passenger is strolling along the lido deck with plans to take advantage of a soft-serve ice cream machine, and the next, they are writhing in pain after a fall that has ruined their whole vacation.
As many Leesfield & Partners’ cruise ship injury clients can attest, that scene is not altogether that uncommon. The firm has remained committed to holding cruise lines accountable for nearly five decades throughout South Florida. In that time, our skilled trial attorneys have seen just about every manner of injury that can occur to cruise ship passengers. From excursion accidents to medical malpractice incidents and slip and falls, our attorneys have worked diligently on every case to secure the best possible outcome for our clients.
The firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, along with Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II, is representing a woman who suffered a life-altering fall while traveling on a ship with her family. What was meant to be a milestone vacation, marking not only our client’s first time on a cruise but also her first time out of the country, was soured by her horrific injury and the ordeal she suffered afterwards.
“This cruise line failed our client from the moment it neglected to address the hazardous condition that caused her fall,” Mr. Pimentel said. “From that point forward, she endured unnecessary and unacceptable suffering while already in pain. We intend to pursue justice for her to the fullest extent of the law.”
Not only was she in severe pain because of the spiral fracture to her left femur — an injury that would later require surgical repair and 50 staples — but she was also incredibly scared after she was left for more than 24 hours in a medical facility in Honduras. Not understanding the language and incredibly far from home, our client was left with no food and very little water. With no available bathroom for her to use, staff at the facility inserted a catheter that later gave our client a urinary tract infection. She said that the conditions were terrible and that she did not see medical staff for hours on end during her stay. She waited for hours with nothing more than liquid Tylenol to treat her severe pain.
The negligent care was not even a bare minimum of accepted medical care,” Mr. Leesfield said.
Thankfully, our client’s family raised the thousands of dollars needed to bring her back to the U.S. Before they could get her out, however, staff at the Honduran medical facility demanded $10,000.
Once back home, doctors told her that this injury would require at least a year to fully heal, derailing her day-to-day life as a public school bus driver and school cafeteria worker. Even after that year, they said, she would need a cane. Tragically, her story is not unique.
Anything from faulty railings to the failed mopping up of water droplets on a cruise ship’s dance floor can result in devastating injuries. As common carriers, cruise ships have a nondelegable duty to protect those on board and can be held liable for injuries. Despite this duty, these companies have tried to place the blame elsewhere in order to escape liability. Leesfield & Partners remained dedicated to holding cruise lines accountable for their actions and seeking justice for injured clients and/or grieving families.
How to Avoid Injury
It is the responsibility of these ships to ensure that their properties are free of hazards and other dangers to guests and employees alike. This means ensuring that spills are quickly mopped up and that warning signs are placed to alert those in the area of slippery surfaces and more to prevent injury. With that, however, our firm has seen how cruise lines repeatedly fail to perform these duties.
There are several steps that a passenger can take to mitigate injury, such as wearing non-slip shoes, taking care to watch their surroundings, and reporting any hazards that they might see. 
Injured on Vacation? What to Do?
Whether you slipped and fell on a cruise ship deck that was slick with water or you were the victim of a crime while staying at a Florida resort, these steps may help support your right to seek financial recovery, depending on the circumstances of your injury.
Your Safety Comes First — Firstly, it is important to ensure your own safety. If you are in immediate danger, you should seek help right away by dialing 911.
Report the Incident — It is important to report the incident right away to the correct office or personnel at the location where you were injured. Request that a report be filed of the incident by hotel, cruise line, or resort personnel. Depending on your circumstances, you may also wish to request that local law enforcement file a report of what occurred as well. Request a copy of any and all reports.
Seek Medical Attention as Soon as Possible — Even if your injuries may seem minor, a medical evaluation is needed. Not only does this ensure that nothing more serious is going on, but it will also help you begin the process of documenting the incident and your injuries.
Document the scene — As stated above, documents such as medical evaluations, X-rays, incident reports, photos and/or videos will be helpful in pending litigation. It is important to photograph or record the scene as it appeared when the incident occurred before anything is moved, cleaned, or changed.
Call a Personal Injury Law Firm like Leesfield & Partners — A personal injury attorney can help you understand your rights and whether you may be eligible to make a claim. With 50 years and numerous record verdicts throughout South Florida, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have seen just about every injury that can occur.
Previous Cases
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented the family of a 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 man with special needs, 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 of 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, is 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-dollar amount for the woman in that case.
