How to File a Claim Against Celebrity Cruise Lines [Injured on a Celebrity Cruise?]
A cruise ship might be the last place you’d expect to suffer a personal injury. Unfortunately, vacations are not exempt from harmful accidents. Passengers on a Celebrity Cruise Lines ship might receive an injury or illness from a slip and fall during turbulence, unsanitary premises, food poisoning, negligent employees on deck, or even acts of violence.
It is a cruise line’s responsibility to keep passengers reasonably safe onboard the ship from disembark to final port. The personal injury attorneys at SteinLaw can help you learn how to file a claim against Celebrity Cruise Lines in the event of a negligence-related personal injury.
1. Understand Your Rights
When you purchase a ticket and board a cruise ship, you automatically accept the cruise line’s contract.
You can typically find this contract in the fine print on the bottom of your ticket. The contract will state something along the lines of, “Celebrity Cruise Lines is not liable for any personal injury, illness, or death unless negligent.” The contract does not protect the cruise line from every personal injury claim – only those the carrier or cruise line employees caused or contributed to.
For example, you may not be able to sue if you drank too much alcohol and tripped and fell down the stairs or into a pole. You might have a lawsuit, however, if torn carpeting or a loose handrail caused the fall. Proper signage in walkways, elevators, stairways, or around the pool area should also be displayed. In this case, you might have a premises liability lawsuit against the carrier for failing to properly maintain the cruise ship.
A cruise line lawsuit may also have a foundation in the legal theory of negligence. For instance, this might be the case if the ship’s cook failed to properly refrigerate fish, leading to an outbreak of food poisoning. When in doubt about whether you have grounds to file a claim for injuries that happened during cruise ship excursions, speak to an attorney.
2. Learn the Laws
Injuries onboard a cruise ship concern different laws than those that occur on land. Cruise ship laws and maritime laws come into play in these accidents. As a common carrier, or a vessel that carries passengers for money, cruise ships must obey certain common carrier laws. These laws and rules include providing:
- Adequate fire protection
- Competent crewmembers
- Safe and sanitary food services
- Firefighting and lifesaving equipment
- Stable watercraft
- Safe navigation
- Vessel control
- Environmental protection
- Protection from physical harm
- Safe arrival at the destination
- Protection from crewmember assaults
- Reasonable search and rescue for missing passengers
Passengers who sustain injuries due to negligence or intent to harm may be able to recover compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, lost time at work, and other damages. However, claims against Celebrity Cruise Lines follow different rules than typical claims.
3. File Your Claim
If you or your attorney believe you have the right to bring a claim against the cruise line, you must obey all applicable statutes of limitation, or time limits for filing. Celebrity Cruise Line’s contract states that “no suit shall be maintainable” against the cruise line for personal injury, illness, or death of any passenger unless someone files a written claim notice to the cruise line’s headquarters within six months of the accident. The headquarters for this cruise line is in Miami, Florida. Even if you’re from another city, state, or country, you must file your claim with the right authorities in Miami.
Retaining the services of a nearby law firm can significantly help in the event of an injury on a Celebrity Cruise Line ship. Suing a cruise line is difficult and involves a variety of strict rules for filing. Protect your rights and ensure you don’t miss any imperative requirements by retaining a personal injury attorney who specializes in cruise ship accidents. Speak to an attorney at SteinLaw for help regarding a specific claim.
Were you injured on one of the following cruise ships operated by Celebrity Cruise Lines?
Celebrity Cruise Line’s Current Fleet is divided into a Millennium Class, Solstice Class, Edge Class, and Xpedition Class:
Which Cruise Ships are part of Celebrity Cruise Line’s Millennium Class?
- Celebrity Millennium
- Celebrity Infinity
- Celebrity Summit
- Celebrity Constellation
Which Cruise Ships are part of Celebrity Cruise Line’s Solstice Class?
- Celebrity Solstice
- Celebrity Equinox
- Celebrity Eclipse
- Celebrity Silhouette
- Celebrity Reflection
Which Cruise Ships are part of Celebrity Cruise Line’s Edge Class?
- Celebrity Edge
Which Cruise Ships are part of Celebrity Cruise Line’s Xpedition Class?
- Celebrity Xpedition
- Celebrity Xperience
- Celebrity Xploration
- Celebrity Flora
Which ships have been retired in Celebrity Cruise Line’s fleet?
- Meridian
- Horizon
- Zenith
- Galaxy/Celebrity Galaxy
- Celebrity Mercury
- Celebrity Century
Information for Out-of-State Attorneys and Clients
SteinLaw handles many cruise ship personal injury lawsuits on behalf of out-of-state clients and attorneys for two critical reasons:
The first is that personal injury claims against a cruise line company usually require passengers to file them in the same state of the company’s headquarters. This can be an issue for people that live elsewhere, and with many major cruise lines based in Florida—such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, and Norwegian Cruse Lines—SteinLaw is well-positioned to help litigate these claims.
The second is that cruise ship accident lawsuits carry a one-year statute of limitations. This—combined with the need to file in the same state of the company’s headquarters—can create an incredibly tight, inconvenient, and often expensive litigation process for out-of-state passengers injured in a cruise ship accident.
With such a narrow window of opportunity for victims to process their claims, SteinLaw takes great care to get victims beyond Florida the compensation they deserve.
In the links below, we are happy to provide additional information for out-of-state victims and attorneys seeking a Florida-based firm to handle a client’s cruise ship personal injury claim on their behalf:
- Cruise Ship Personal Injury FAQ
- Understanding Admiralty and Maritime Law: How to Pursue Damages as a Worker at Sea
- Cruise Ships Facing Lawsuits Over COVID-19 Outbreaks
- Will Travel Insurance Provide Additional Protection if I am Injured On Vacation?
- Common Cruise Ship Accidents and Understanding Your Rights
- How to File a Claim Against:
Contact SteinLaw today to see what we can do to help you or your client get the compensation they deserve for their cruise ship personal injury.
