Anyone who is planning a family trip on a cruise expects adventure, thrill, good food and overall enthralling experience. Accidents or mishappenings are the last things anyone would want to encounter on a cruise journey. However, unfortunately, these things do happen.
If you want to avoid any further inconvenience for yourself and your family, the first thing that you should do after booking your tickets is to hire a cruise-ship injury lawyer in Miami. A professional will be very helpful in case you suffer an injury or a misfortune.
Mishaps that are covered in such cases include small slip and fall cases as well as a large cruise crash case. Some other things that can be included for injury claims are – food poisoning, missing persons, wrongful deaths, sexual assaults and rapes, etc.
Five Things You Should Do When You Are Injured On A Cruise Ship
If you follow the right course of action in a systematic way, you create an easy path towards getting your claim from the cruise liner company. The best cruise-ship injury lawyer in Miami suggests doing the following things after you get injured on a cruise ship.
- Report to the Cruise Authorities – All the cruise ships ought to abide by the International Maritime Laws. As per this law, every cruise ship has a safety management system. This system has a special department to document and investigate such unpleasant incidents on the cruise ship.
Therefore, as soon as you get injured, do not forget to report your case to the authorities. They have to document and investigate your case further. Also, remember that this is the report that will be considered in the litigation process.
- Document your side of the Story – The safety management section of the cruise company will investigate the incident from their point of view. No matter how hospitable they look, they are investigating the matter to defend themselves against your potential claims.
Hence, you should be ready with your own proofs, documents, and investigation. Take pictures of the accident spot and your injury; note down names, contact details and addresses of your co-passengers who can help you pursue your claims against the cruise company. Also, take names, job position and contact information of other crewmembers who witnessed your accident.
All of these combined will assist you in your claims against the cruise ship company. It is futile to rely on the investigation of the cruise ship solely because their report is seldom going to help you.
- Be Careful with your Statements –If you make a statement in a state where you have not yet recovered from the trauma of getting injured, are in physical pain or simply not in a state of clearly articulating the sequence of events, you are more likely to provide unclear or inaccurate details. You may often forget to mention some of the essential things.
Cruise ship companies generally push to get the statement from the injured person at the earliest to take advantage of your unstable state. They might even ask you to write your statement in such a situation or request one of your family members to make a statement on your behalf.
However, this should be avoided. It is your right to provide your statement later when you are in your complete senses. Also, do not let your friend or family member make any statement on your behalf because they might end up missing out on some details.
- Report to the Authorities – If you have suffered a crime on the cruise ship, report it not only to the cruise ship authorities but also to the United States Authorities.
It is important to seek the interference of the local police department in your case. You should also insist on the cruise company safety management section to report it to the local police so that a quick action might be taken against the culprit as soon as you reach a port.
- Remember the Six-Months Deadline – After you reach your destination, the first thing that you should do is seek on demand medical attention and recover. However, once that phase is over, do not wait further to consult your cruise-ship injury lawyer in Miami.
The cruise company needs to be notified that you are asserting a claim for your injury within six months. Further, filing of the lawsuit should be done within a year. Mostly, cruise companies do not inform you of this deadline, but you should remember that if you miss this deadline, no matter how serious your case was, your claims will become invalid.