Last fall, the Eleventh Circuit finally overturned 100 years of legal precedent in Franza v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (the last stop before the US Supreme Court) refused to follow a case out of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
We are all familiar with the rules of the road on land. It’s that handbook you get in driver’s education. However, I am surprised to discover how many boaters are not familiar with the rules of the road on the water. Just like all drivers on land must abide by
Unfortunately, rapes aboard cruise ships are not uncommon. Recently, a Holland America Cruise Lines employee was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the rape and attempted murder of a female passenger. This attack occurred on the MS Nieuw Amsterdam after the Holland America employee gained access
As a maritime personal injury attorney, I have numerous cases against cruise lines. Most of these cases involve my clients being hurt while onboard the ship. However, some cases involve injuries sustained on excursions or even through crimes while at the port. Below is a list of ports commonly listed
Recently, the US Supreme Court has accepted a case that will finally decide whether punitive damages are allowed for persons injured or killed while working at sea. The case is McBride v. Estis Well Service and involves an incident aboard a barge with a truck-mounted drilling rig. The rig toppled
The recent United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit opinion in Franza v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, LTD. now allows passengers injured as the result of medical negligence while onboard the ability to sue the cruise line based on agency theory. This case effectively overrules the case Barbetta v.
Until just this month no one was allowed to sue the cruise lines for medical negligence. Ever! It didn’t matter if the cruise line doctor completely butchered you, the cruise line was totally exempt from responsibility (remember, this is the only doctor you could possibly choose on the ship as you
Just like accidents on land, you need two things to prove your case when the accident occurs on the water, liability and damages. However, the method of finding these (and their many subparts) is significantly different when vessels collide with either another vessel (collision) or when they collide with a
As an attorney who practices maritime law, I often take cases against cruise lines. These cases often involve trip or slip and fall where my client has been injured. These cases are often very difficult to prove negligence on the part of the cruise line. One such way is to
On September 9th, a boater was rescued by two Good Samaritans after his watercraft collided with a seawall in the Boynton Beach Inlet. Witnesses said the boater’s throttle was stuck, and he lost control of his boat. The man was pulled from the water by two bystanders after they heard
