The maritime industry consists of many risks and dangers. We successfully represent roughly 100 cruise ship passengers injured at sea on an annual basis. These cases can range from the most mundane slip and fall in the buffet line to the most unusual fact patterns involving death or catastrophic injury.
Common Causes of Accidents on Cruise Ships in Houston
Cruise ships contain a lot of leisure activities and conveniences to enjoy while on the voyage, such as shopping centers, restaurants, swimming pools, theaters, restaurants, rock climbing, and much more. Unfortunately, the many amenities available to passengers are prone to many accident hazards on the ship. Cruise ships are floating cities, so we often see all types of injuries on cruise ships. Common causes of accidents on a cruise ship include:
Swimming Pool Accidents: Cruise ships frequently have slippery pool deck floors or defective stairs that lead into the pool, both of which can cause dangerous slip and fall incidents. Furthermore, swimming pool accidents could be fatal due to the nature of the incident where one may succumb to their injuries or drown. We have successfully handled numerous cases involving drownings or near-drownings, and we have fought vigorously to have lifeguards placed at many cruise ship pools.
Recreational Activities: Passengers are often injured during recreational activities on a cruise ship. These activities include sky rides, rock climbing, and water activities. The passengers are also able to seek compensation from the cruise company for their injuries if we can prove that the cruise line was negligent in the operation of the activity.
Elevator and Escalator Accidents: We frequently see injury cases involving improperly maintained elevators and escalators. These cases can be as small as someone being hit by a malfunctioning door or as significant as an elevator falling multiple floors and causing grievous injury.
Slip and Fall Accidents: Slip and fall accidents are arguably the most common way passengers get injured at sea. There are endless factors in which passengers might get injured, but common fact patterns involve water or food left on flooring surfaces, poorly maintained thoroughfares such as stairwells, and unreasonably slippery flooring surfaces such as those found by the pool.
Fires: Fire at sea is about as bad of a situation as one can possibly face at sea. Fire can quickly destroy an entire ship and thereby place the safety of everyone on the vessel at tremendous risk. Fortunately, modern technological advances have made shipboard fires relatively infrequent.
Drowning: Passengers may drown in a swimming pool accident or if they fall overboard, or if the ship is severely damaged and is flooded with water. We have successfully handled numerous drownings at sea cases.
Assault and Sexual Assault: Assault and sexual assault are prominent on cruise ships. There is a hidden epidemic at sea of rapes and sexual assaults. There are a number of factors at play that have caused this epidemic. Chief among them is little, or no law enforcement and the excessive overservice of alcohol.
Common Injuries Suffered by Cruise Passengers
Passengers tragically suffer many injuries on a cruise that can be detrimental if they are not medically treated. The common injuries that passengers often suffer are:
Broken or fractured bones
Drowning
Severe Emotional Trauma
Amputations
Internal Bleeding and Organ Damage
Spinal Injuries (Including partial and total paralysis)
Severe Burns, Disfigurement, and Scarring
Neck, Back, and Shoulder injuries
Illnesses (Food poisoning and bacterial illnesses)
Traumatic brain injuries and other brain injuries
Death
Hiring Maritime Lawyers to Deal with Complex Maritime Laws
When you or a loved one are injured at sea, you need to find an experienced maritime attorney to help. Maritime Attorneys focus on the specific body of laws and codes that apply at sea. If you broke your leg, you wouldn’t see an eye doctor, so you can’t just see any attorney when an accident or injury occurs at sea.
It is critically important to find an experienced maritime attorney as soon as possible to help you navigate to the best outcome for your and your family.
The post Typical Houston Maritime Accidents Experienced by Passengers appeared first on Attorney at Law Magazine.
