Personal Injury On Cruise Ship Jurisdiction
And while falling overboard is one of the rarest things that can happen aboard a cruise ship accidents injuries and illness are fairly common.
Personal injury on cruise ship jurisdiction. Have you been injured on a cruise ship. Cruise ship personal injury accident attorneys like Ross Abramowitz Paul Galsterer and Alyssa Emont are highly experienced personal injury cruise ship lawyers at The Injury Firm. Some cruise lines require suit to be filed in Los Angeles ie.
The United States can have jurisdiction over a. Once a cruise ship sails more than 24 miles off of the coast of any given country it is considered to be in international waters. This means that the laws governing crimes on the ship are determined by the flag that the ship is sailing under.
For more than 27 combined years our cruise ship accident attorneys have been representing cruise ship crew members and cruise ship passengers across the world involved with cruise ship personal. Statutory schemes unique to the field of maritime personal injury and death. Also the federal law allows cruise lines to shorten the statute of limitations within which passengers are allowed to file lawsuits for personal injury to 1 year from the date of the incident from the normal 3 year maritime personal injury statute of limitations.
However passenger tickets play a significant part in attempts toward legal action as they may include language that restricts venue for a personal injury claim which could be complicated. However the court in which suit must be filed may be governed by the terms on the cruise ship ticket. The ticket may even specify the particular court such as the US.
If you have a personal injury case it is important to seek a maritime lawyer that has experience with personal injury lawsuits against major cruise lines. The general maritime law from the United States Supreme Court holds that cruise ship owners owe a legal duty to passengers to act with reasonable care under the circumstances. Most cruise ship tickets contain a forum selection clause and a choice of law clause.
Jurisdiction issues often arise in personal injury cases but are particularly important to be aware of in the cruise ship context where one or more of the responsible parties may be operating out of another state or country. United States District Court for the Middle District of California. Injuries that occur on cruise ships are similar to those that occur on land aside from incidents involving overboard fall situations or drowning.
