America’s Top Maritime Lawyers

Most cruise ship passenger cases have to be filed in Miami, Florida, as set out in the passenger ticket contract. This enforceable contractual provision is called a forum selection clause and with all cases against Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL and most other cruise lines, the clause calls for all cases to be filed in Miami, Florida (our primary base of operations). Other cruise lines such as Princess Cruises call for all cases to be filed in California, and Holland America Cruises cases call for all cases to be filed in Washington State. That is why is we have attorneys licensed in California and Washington on our team of 11 attorneys, so that we can handle any and all major cruise ship injury cases.

For a non cruise line injury case, most typically, the case has to be filed in the location of the incident or accident, unless there is a written agreement for the case to be filed elsewhere.

With all cruise ship passenger cases, there is a strict one year time limit to file the case from the date of injury. There is also a 6 month notice provision which means the cruise line must have notice of the incident within 6 months of the incident. This is the main reason why it is so critical to immediately contact a maritime attorney after an incident.

With most other maritime related injury claims, there is a 3 year period of time to bring a case. This is known as a statute of limitation and it is a critical date to abide by otherwise the case can be thrown out of court.

As far as our fees, we work exclusively on a contingency fee basis. This means if there is no recovery, there is no fee. We are only paid when we win for you. There is no charge for any consultation so contact us immediately so we can clearly and simply explain your rights.

The answer to this common question is always fact specific. But simply stated, the law generally affords you the right to be compensated for the harm done to you. There are two main ways to calculate this: economic and non economic damages. Economic damages are fairly easily calculated. For example, if you are hurt and you miss a year of work and you make $30,000 per year, then you have a lost wage loss of $30,000. Conversely, non economic damages, such as pain and suffering, are not as easy to calculate but ultimately it is a jury that decides what is a fair amount of money to compensate you for what you have suffered. Of course, many cases settle or resolve prior to trial and this is one of the primary reasons to hire an experienced maritime attorney to give you advice regarding a fair settlement amount.