Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
The waterslides and pool deck of this cruise ship — originally meant to be enjoyed with the backdrop of sparkling, tropical waters — looked a little different covered in New Jersey snow.
Stuck in port overnight in the Garden State due to Winter Storm Hernando, the vessel was blanketed in snow. While the ship was meant to be carrying its thousands of passengers to the crystal-clear waters of the Bahamas, guests instead peered out their windows to find pool decks and lounge chairs coated in snow and framed by an unexpected, icy landscape. Photos of the peculiar sight can be seen posted on the cruise line’s blog page.
The weather delay has also set back arrivals in Port Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, as well as later arrivals at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, the blog reported. If the weather does not improve, then further changes to scheduled voyages may be possible.
And cruise ships are not the only sector of the travel industry facing delays. Flights across the U.S. have been canceled and rapidly piling snow has made driving and other travel more difficult. Power outages in some cities have been reported with New York City getting more than 15 inches of snow, making this among the heaviest snowstorms of the last five years.
These types of delays are often unavoidable and, when handled properly, reflect good judgment when faced with dangerous conditions. But, while weather may be outside a cruise line’s control, the decisions made in response to it are not. When companies fail to adjust appropriately, communicate clearly and/or prioritize passenger and crew safety during severe conditions, the consequences can extend far beyond inconvenience — and that is when accountability becomes critical.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm with headquarters in Miami, Florida, has held these companies accountable for more than five decades. In that time, the firm has secured record and leading verdicts for cruise ship passengers and crew members as well as grieving families. Our skilled trial attorneys have handled every manner of injury at sea from delayed medical evacuations, medical malpractice incidents, crew member injuries, slip and falls, negligent security, excursion accidents and other onboard injuries.
In an ongoing case, Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II is representing a woman left with psychological and emotional scars after an employee was found planting hidden cameras in her cabin. This woman was not the only victim who was unknowingly being filmed while in the privacy of their cabin. Many other victims include children.
The employee in this case was later sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child sex abuse material.
“If we hold these carriers, these cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, accountable for these kind of situations, they can now proactively seek out this misconduct and these people, these individuals that can commit these kind of actions against their passengers before it even occurs,” Mr. Pimentel said.
Previous Cases
These injuries have included the amputation of a passenger’s finger when a lounge chair collapsed, the wrongful death of a scuba diver while on an excursion in the Bahamas, and injuries stemming from a cruise ship’s collision with a cargo ship while in the middle of the English channel. These tragic and painful incidents reflect the wide range of cruise ship injury cases our attorneys have successfully helped individuals and families navigate.
The experience of Leesfield & Partners extends across many types of maritime injury matters and complex claims involving cruise line negligence. Our attorneys work diligently to ensure that the best possible outcome is achieved on behalf of every client.
The firm previously represented the families of a mother and daughter who booked a parasailing excursion while traveling on a cruise ship. Tragically, the negligent management of equipment resulted in disaster when a rope suddenly snapped while the two were up in the air. They were sent hurdling toward the water below. The mother died from her injuries and her daughter suffered brain injuries.
Leesfield & Partners settled the case for $7.25 million.
The firm obtained a recovery of more than $5 million for a cruise ship medical malpractice case that resulted in an amputation.
For a 72-year-old who worked as a nurse before her retirement, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $4.24 million settlement after a cruise line failed to test blood administered to her during a medical emergency. As a result, the woman was later diagnosed with HIV. The transfused blood was donated by another passenger.
Leesfield & Partners secured $4 million for a woman in medical distress that a cruise line failed to evacuate.
A horrific example of a cruise ship doctor’s negligent medical care involved a crew member who went to the infirmary with symptoms of nausea. While giving him medication that could have eased his symptoms, the cruise’s medical staff ignored a black box warning label on the box that instructed them to give the drug slowly and inject it deep into the muscle. Instead, this staff injected the medication into the man’s IV all at once. He was in immediate agony, the start of an hours-long, excruciating experience.
Doctors aboard the cruise ship searched online for what to do. When the man was eventually able to seek medica treatment on land, his right arm had undergone severe tissue damage. In the end, it could not be saved and doctors had to amputate.
The man was awarded over $3.3 million at arbitration.
In another cruise ship excursion case, Leesfield & Partners recovered nearly $3 million for the tragic death of our client’s adult son. In that case, the young man was traveling with his family and ventured out on a cruise-sanctioned bus excursion. When the bus was involved in a crash, our client’s son was ejected and suffered fatal injuries, a devastating loss for the family.
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.
A rollover ATV crash on a shore excursion caused serious injuries to multiple passengers. Leesfield & Partners settled the case for over $1.2 million.
A Canadian woman who was on a cruise ship for a wedding was previously represented by Leesfield & Partners after a crewmember raped her in her private cabin. The crew member used his employee status to enter the woman’s room.
A confidential settlement was secured for the woman in that case.
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.
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 traffic 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.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro settled a case on behalf of a woman who suffered serious spinal injuries while on a cruise ship jet ski excursion.
Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Attorney at the firm, obtained a wrongful death settlement for the family of a woman who died due to the failures of a cruise ship’s onboard medical staff.
If you or a loved one was injured on a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners Attorney today at 800-836-6400 or 305-854-4900 to see if you might be eligible for compensation.
