Finding Good Lawyers For Cruise Ship, Yacht and Boat Accidents in Miami, FL

Travelling on the world’s waterways is a popular means to see many countries and what they have to offer. This kind of excursion can be the trip of a lifetime for many but can turn ugly (or even tragic) if something goes wrong onboard. Legal action can be sought for many onboard incidents including (but not limited to) accidents, injuries, theft, crime, sickness, and assaults of various nature.

If you have found your way here, chances are you (or someone you know) may have experienced adversity on a vessel and are looking for legal guidance. The Madalon Law office is highly qualified to handle these cases and specializes in maritime law, Miami cruise ship lawsuits, and Miami boat accident lawsuits.

What to do First

If your cruise ship accident or injury is currently in a fluid situation here are some immediate steps you can take to support your legal rights.

Document – Take photos, videos or even audio recordings of the incident, or result of the incident, in question. This will give you evidence of your claims in a Miami boat accident lawsuit.
Report – Immediately locate the vessel’s security department if you’re traveling on a larger passenger vessel, like a cruise ship. File a report. Obtain a copy of that report and add notes to it such as who took your report, the day and time and any witnesses.
Injury – Seek onboard medical support if available. Ask for copies of your medical evaluation and document your treatment.
Medical – Seek a medical professional in the next port of entry to be evaluated by a third party. Ask for copies of those documents as well.
Attorney – Seek an attorney who specializes in maritime legal cases in Miami.

You should seek a Miami cruise ship accident attorney or boat accident attorney even if this event has previously happened. You can take as many possible actions that were listed above to help you recall the incident if you would like to pursue a ship accident lawsuit in Miami going forward.

Types of Adversities Experienced by Passengers Onboard

Maybe you’re wondering if you can even pursue legal action or what qualifies as a means to seek legal action. While those definitions will vary widely and you should always consult a ship accident lawyer, here are some incidents when you should pursue your legal rights as a passenger.

Disaster Strikes – This would include running aground complications, a vessel capsizing or sinking, collisions, terrorism or pirating, land-based excursions resulting in injury or death.
Hit with Sickness – Illness onboard is common such as the flu, Norovirus, and gastrointestinal complications. You can seek legal action in instances where this impacted your embarkment or changed your itinerary.
A Mechanical Failure – These include things like fire, power loss or failure in major vessel features or abilities. These things can impact your itinerary as well.
Crime or/and Assault – Legal actions can be brought when belligerent behaviors or indecency, theft or robbery, drug smuggling and similar have impacted you adversely. Assaults as in battery, slipping, falling or rape are other more obvious instances.
Weather Event – Whether often impacts an itinerary or port location such as heavy fog, squalls, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
Death – Tragic situations in need of critical legal attention are missing passengers, overboards, pool accidents, critical trauma, heart attack, murder or suicide.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of situations that may require a Miami boat accident lawyer. If you are in doubt, you should always consult an attorney about your case and ask them to decipher as to whether or not you have a Miami boat accident lawsuit on your hands.

Rights You Should Know About

The “Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act” defines how all U.S. passengers who experience one of the instances above or similar, require operating companies to report incidents to the FBI. These reports are mandatory even though they might occur in international waters.

Shore excursion accidents – These kinds of incidents happen all the time and are one of the hardest areas of maritime law to litigate because of how complex they can get. These events usually take place in a foreign country with foreign laws and operators. Cruise companies and touring vessels often claim that these operators run their businesses outside of the cruise company. It’s important that a cruise ship accident lawyer Miami fully investigates an accident claim. Often these “independent” companies are found to have partnering contracts with the cruise line that passengers may not otherwise know about.

Passengers who have experienced an injury or death as a result of an on-shore excursion have the right to pursue legal action. Here at Madalon Law, our Miami ship accident attorneys are experienced in the unique laws that surround the maritime industry. We can uncover where safety may have failed and even discover how companies were negligent in taking passenger safety into account.

Smaller Vessel Accident

There are rights for individuals who travel on smaller style yachts or boats as well. Miami boat accident lawyers are hired often for those who may have been involved in various onboard accidents. These might include liveaboard excursion incidents on a catamaran, a SCUBA accident, tender or dinghy accidents, waterski accident or injury, jet skis, fishing charters, snorkeling, and other water-based activities.

Commercial Negligence Legal Representation

Passengers tend to be protected under various maritime laws, but the fact is, so are businesses. As in the case with Miami small vessel tour operators, a lawsuit can have a devastating impact on your business both financially and from a publicity standpoint. An experienced maritime lawyer who understands Miami boat accident lawsuits can assist if you believe claims are fraudulent or to ease the damage from an unfortunate accident. Please seek legal guidance from our maritime legal team here at Madalon law if you find your company in this situation.