|
|
For Charles Lipcon, business has never been better | Miami Herald |
Download PDF file
BY AMY MARTINEZ
March 15, 2006
For Charles Lipcon, business has never been better
Charles Lipcon likes to take a cruise ship vacation every now and then.
"There's something for everyone," he says. "When my dad turned 80, we all went on a cruise. My parents could go see a show at night. I could go to the casino. And it's a great value."
The fact that Lipcon sues cruise lines for a living doesn't take away from his enjoyment -- he even suspects he gets better treatment once crew members figure out who he is.
After all, Lipcon has been suing cruise lines for more than 30 years on behalf of injured crew members and passengers.
He recalls one cruise during which a crew member, a former client, recognized him in the ship's dining room.
"I had better service than the captain," he says, laughing.
Lipcon grew up as the second of two sons born to a Navy psychiatrist. He moved frequently before settling in Miami at age 16. Armed with a law degree from the University of Miami, he went to work in 1971 for lawyer Don Feldman, who turned to him early on with a challenge that would ultimately shape his career: Figure out a way for a longshoreman to sue a Japanese ship owner.
Lipcon recalls that it took him a while, but he figured it out, and soon he went into practice for himself, with his sights set on Miami's cruise operators.
He says he has always found personal fulfillment helping injured crew members and passengers. Like most trial lawyers, Lipcon works on contingency, meaning he doesn't get paid if he doesn't win a settlement or jury verdict -- at which point he takes a hefty chunk of the payout, up to 40 percent.
Plus, he says, there has always been more than enough work. One of his biggest verdicts was in the 1980s against Sky Cruises. Lipcon represented the family of a crew member aboard the Scandinavian Sky who died from inhaling poisonous gas while repairing a leak of raw sewage. A jury awarded the family $6.1 million.
In the late 1990s, Lipcon helped form the Florida Admiralty Trial Lawyers Association, which is made up of about 20 lawyers who get together in Miami every few months to discuss legal issues.
Lipcon says he has more cases against the cruise lines than he can count, somewhere between 200 and 400. Currently, he's representing the family of a Wisconsin woman who disappeared from a Carnival cruise ship, one of 15 missing-person cases reported by the industry in the past two years.
Business, he says, has never been better. His law firm, with offices on the 24th floor of Miami's One Biscayne Tower, has five lawyers and is looking to hire several more.
"More ships mean more passengers, more crew members and more cases," he says.
|
|
The Attorney Who Never Loses | Selecta Magazine |
|
| $965 injury claim leads to $3.5 million jury award |
South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
|
| $6.1 million awarded in case of seaman killed on cruise ship |
The Sun-Sentinel |
|
|
Accidents aboard ships do happen, but not very often | Miami Herald |
|
|
Colin Farrell's personal dresser from Miami Vice suing production company | A Current Affair |
|
|
Cruise lines adding cell service | A Current Affair |
|
|
Cruise workers' health a concern | Florida Today |
|
|
A Current Affair special 1: Missing cruise passenger George Smith | A Current Affair |
|
|
A Current Affair special 2: Cruise Ship Rape & Sexual Assaults | A Current Affair |
|
|
A Current Affair special 3: Crime on the High Seas | A Current Affair |
|
|
A Current Affair special 4: Crime on Cruise Ships | A Current Affair |
|
|
|
Blinded in attack from Iran, seaman awarded $1 million | The Miami Herald |
|
|
Carnival Cruise employee arrested on sex charge | St. Petersburg Times |
|
|
Carnival Cruises Sued by Family of Wisconsin Woman Who Disappeared | USA TODAY |
|
|
Carroll jury awards $2.5 million | Canton Ohio Newspaper |
|
|
Cause of Ship's Blast Still Unclear | The Miami Herald |
|
| Chaplain's Corner |
The Seafarer |
|
| Charles Lipcon interviewed on Sky Radio for American Airlines. |
 |
|
| Charles Lipcon on George Smith Case |
Scarborough Country |
|
| Charles Lipcon on George Smith Case |
Scarborough Country |
|
| Charles Lipcon interviewed live on MSNBC regarding Congressional investigation of George Smith case |
Scarborough Country |
|
| Charles Lipcon on George Smith Case |
Heartland With John Kasich |
|
| Charles Lipcon on George Smith Case |
Big Story Weekend Edition |
|
| Charles Lipcon on George Smith Case |
MSNBC News Live |
|
| Crewmen Work in Fear of Being Fired, Deported |
Sun-Sentinel |
|
| Crime Rocks The Boats |
TIME Magazine |
|
| Cruise execs: Crime concerns overblown |
Florida Today |
|
|
Cruise Line Crime | Court TV |
|
| Cruise line faces revived lawsuit |
Orlando Sentinel |
|
| Cruise liners no luxury for crew as long hours, low wages prevail |
The Sun-Sentinel |
|
|
Cruise lines liable for MDs - Court rules against Carnival | The Miami Herald |
|
|
CRUISE LINES: Missing cruise cases spur calls for scrutiny | The Miami Herald |
|
| Cruise lines operate under layers of laws - Vessels fly different flags; rules complex across seas |
The Miami Herald |
|
|
Cruise Lines Responsible for Medical Malpractice to Passengers | Press Release |
|
|
Cruiseline Sexual Assaults on FOX News | FOX 11 News |
|
|
CRUISE SAFETY: If you use your head, you couldn't be any place safer | The Miami Herald |
|
|
Cruise workers must endure long hours for others' leisure | Houston Chronicle |
|
|
Cruise Passenger Says Ship Employee Raped Her | South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
|
|
Cruises...Hot Vacations...Cold Truth / Cruise Ship Crimes | FOX26 NEWS |
|
|
Fee Lawsuits Filed Against Cruise Lines | Herald.com |
|
|
Fortune Awaits Sailor Being Held in Cuban Jail | The Miami Herald |
|
| For Charles Lipcon, business has never been better |
Miami Herald |
|
|
Health Care Often Misses the Boat | The Miami Herald |
|
|
Hope's Story | A Current Affair |
|
|
Hope's Story | A Current Affair |
|
| How to take steps to make your cruise safer |
The Sun-Sentinel |
|
| Injured seaman wins $25.8 million award |
The Miami Herald |
|
|
Jamie's Story: A Cruise Rape Victim speaks out | A Current Affair |
|
Jane's Story | A Current Affair |
|
|
Jason Margulies And The George Smith Case | MSNBC News Live |
|
|
Jury relives last minutes of doomed JAL 747 flight | The Seattle Times |
|
| Kin of woman missing on cruise sue Carnival |
Miami Herald |
|
| Lawsuits filed over 'First Strikes' |
Numismatic News |
|
| Lawyers turn cruise lawsuits into industry |
Miami Herald |
|
|
Lipcon on Geraldo show covering Cruise Passenger Disappearances | Geraldo at Large |
|
|
Lipcon receives award | N. American Maritime Ministry Conference |
|
|
Lipcon.com Receives National Recognition | Law Office Computing |
|
|
Man Disappears From Cruiseship | The O'Reilly Factor |
|
|
Medical Woes Sink Cruise Careers | FloridaToday.com |
|
| Michael Winkleman, Recent Law School Graduate |
|
|
| Missing woman's husband finds hope in lawsuit |
GM Today |
|
| Mizener continues in midst of cruise fight |
Waukesha Freeman (Conley) |
|
| Newfoundland Air Crash |
ATLA Law Reporter |
|
| Norwegian suits to Philippines? Cruise line likely to seek transfer |
The Miami-Herald |
|
| NTSB to investigate cause of Norway blast |
The Miami Herald |
|
|
Parasailing accident investigated |
Bradenton Herald / East Manatee Herald |
|
|
Passenger deaths a cruise concern |
FloridaToday.com |
|
| Rotary Sending Used Pacemakers to Guatemala |
The Miami Herald |
|
| Seaman's family awarded $6 million |
The Miami Herald |
|
| Ship steward's tip income can be included in maintenance and cure |
ATLA Law Reporter |
|
| Some Question Health Care on Cruise Ships |
Associated Press |
|
| SOVEREIGN ISLANDS -- A special report.; Getting Sick on the High Seas: A Question of Accountability
|
The New York Times |
|
| Tensions rise between "Norway" widows, cruise line over lawsuits |
South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
|
| The $25.8 million dollar man - A case without precedent |
Voces/ Miami Mensual |
|
| Video shows passenger going overboard |
Florida Today |
|
| Widow wins suit with cruise line |
The Sun-Sentinel |
|
| Workers alarmed cruisers |
Florida Today |
