Were you injured in an accident while on a cruise ship? Did something happen to you while you were on a cruise ship that harmed you? If so, then you may be owed compensation for your injuries. Belal Hamideh, a Long Beach cruise ship accident lawyer, has helped many who were injured on cruise ships to be able to claim damages. Now, he can do the same for you. If you were injured on a cruise ship (or even think you may have been) it’s worth reaching out.
Why? For many reasons, not the least of which is that the statute of limitations for cruise ship injuries is just one year. So, the sooner you reach out to an attorney the better. The last thing you want to do is to miss the deadline to file when you have a case. Belal Hamideh and the staff can help you through every step of the process, representing you in the most aggressive way possible.
Why Should You Reach Out to a Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer
Simply put, you should hire a cruise ship accident lawyer because a professional can help you to receive as much compensation as possible for everything that you’ve gone through. When you go on a cruise ship, you expect to have fun. You expect to have a good time with family and friends. The last thing anyone expects is an injury, particularly one that causes you to require medical attention, miss work, and more. That’s where a lawyer can come in.
We can help you to receive compensation for your injuries and so much more. For one, we can help you to receive compensation to pay for medical bills that are a result of your injury. Moreover, we can help you to recover compensation for lost wages, money that you would have made had you been able to work, too. Those are just some of the forms of compensation that we can help you to claim.
You should hire the best lawyer possible because you can rest assured that the other side will. Cruise ship law has important, significant differences, and it’s paramount to work with an attorney who has cruise ship law experience. A lawyer with experience in cruise ship law will have the best opportunity to stand up to the cruise ship, their lawyers, their insurance company, and anyone else potentially keeping you from the compensation you deserve.
Common Cruise Accidents and Injuries
You can have a lot of fun on a cruise ship. However, unfortunately, accidents and injuries are all too common. Slips fall, trips, and the like make up more than half of all of the injuries that occur on cruise ships. They can happen practically anywhere, at any time, and in any way. Stairs wear down over time, walkways can become defective, and luggage can fall from improperly stored shelves – these accidents can occur in practically any kind of way.
So many of the injuries our clients have suffered on cruise ships come about because something on the cruise ship wasn’t maintained properly. Pools, water slides, spas, kids’ play areas, and more – these can be hazardous for so many reasons. Equipment can fall into disrepair, supervision can be negligent at best, security can be lax, and even the water can be left to fester.
Some of the worst cruise ship injuries don’t occur on a cruise ship. Rather, they occur on some of the off-shore excursions, recreational opportunities, and the like. If you were injured after you left the boat for a hike, or when you were scuba diving, parasailing, kayaking, climbing up a rock face, or any other similar activity, the cruise ship very well may be liable for it.
If you or a member of your family were injured on a cruise ship, you deserve to be compensated for it.
How Do I Know I Have A Cruise Ship Accident Case?
The truth is that you may not know if you have a cruise ship accident case. Indeed, that’s what the other side is counting on. All too often, folks are injured on a cruise ship, have a case, but don’t believe that they do. Thus, they don’t reach out to an experienced attorney and then the statute of limitations expires. You don’t want that to happen to you. If you think there’s any chance that you may have a cruise ship accident case, you should reach out to an experienced attorney.
How do you know if you may have a case? Simple. If you were injured on a cruise ship, or on a cruise ship-related activity (such as one of those off-ship excursions) then it’s worth it to see if you have a case. If you were hurt, reach out to an attorney. These cases are complex and the idea of bringing a lawsuit against a cruise ship can be intimidating. We can help with that, too.
The worst thing that can happen if you reach out to us is that we’ll tell you that we think you probably don’t have a case. That’s it. However, it’s entirely possible that we’ll tell you that you do have a case and that we’ll take it, to help you receive the compensation that you deserve. We can put together a comprehensive investigation to find out the truth. If you were injured on a cruise ship, it’s in your interest to call.
What’s the Process of a Cruise Ship Accident Settlement?
First, you call an attorney who knows how these cases work. Once we determine that your claim is valid, we’ll work with you to put together the best case possible. From there, we’ll help you to determine who’s truly responsible for your injuries. Yes, it very well could be the cruise ship line. However, it may also include the manufacturers of the ship’s equipment, those that provided services on the ship, and so forth. It’s entirely possible that you’ll deserve compensation from multiple parties, and we can bring suit against all of them, doing our best to ensure that occurs.
We’ll also work to figure out where we should best file your suit. Some cruise ships can only be sued in certain states, in some areas. Drawing upon our experience, we can determine the best place to file your suit and bring your case.
Speaking of your case, we’ll conduct a thorough investigation to determine not just which parties were negligent but to establish the harms and damages that they caused. Through this, we’ll be able to maximize your settlement as much as possible.
For the most part, the other side negotiates with us fairly. They know to offer us quality settlements, as our prowess in court is well known. However, if we do have to argue your case in a courtroom we take great pride in doing so. We will be paid through your eventual settlement, so you do not need to pay for us out of your pocket.
How Long Do I Have to File My Lawsuit?
One year. You have exactly one year to bring your case. Otherwise, the statute of limitations expires and you lose your right to pursue compensation. With such a short statute of limitations, it’s all the more imperative to reach out to an experienced attorney as soon as possible. The sooner we get to work on your case, the sooner you can receive the compensation you deserve.
How Much is a Cruise Ship Accident Lawsuit Worth?
The truth is that there is no set “average” for how much one of these cases could be worth. Every case is different and so too is their worth. In the past, some injury lawsuits have been worth more than $100,000. However, if you or someone you love suffers worse injuries, then they could go as high as $350,00 or even higher. Wrongful death cases can go over one million.
With these injury cases (as well as others) you can receive economic as well as non-economic damages. Economic damages are determined from financial losses directly resulting from the cruise ship injury. These include medical expenses that you may have accrued due to the injury as well as medical expenses you may have in the future. This also covers lost wages from missed work as well as wages you would have made in the future, had you been able to continue working (if you are unable, even if you are unable to work your job in the same capacity as before the injury).
However, you can also receive non-economic damages as well. These aren’t directly tied to monetary losses that you’ve suffered, but rather include damages such as “emotional distress.” This would be compensation for any trauma suffered due to the injuries. “Pain and suffering” is another, where you would be compensated for all of the pain that you’ve had to go through.
“Loss of consortium” is another form of damage you could claim if you and/or your loved ones are deprived of regular companionship, loving, and so forth.
Punitive damages can also come into play in certain cases. These are added to a case to punish the defendant, in hopes that they refrain from similar activities in the future. We can help you to receive all of the compensation you deserve for everything that you’ve been through due to your cruise ship injury.
Wrongful Death On a Cruise Ship
Unfortunately, some cruise ship injuries are fatal. These “wrongful death” cases are some of the most difficult. No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of a loved one. With the money, you can use it to pay for expenses that have accrued due to your loved one’s passing while also having a foundation from which to start the next phase of your life.
In these cases, it’s imperative to prove that your loved one passed due to the negligence and/or malice of the cruise ship or other parties. If you’ve lost a loved one at sea, you may be able to utilize the “Death on the High Seas” act. These maritime laws are complex, which makes it all the more important that you work with an attorney who has experience with these kinds of cases.
As with any other kind of cruise ship injury, if your loved one died on a cruise ship, it’s worth it to reach out to a wrongful death lawyer to see if you have a case.
Wrongful Death Due to COVID-19 On a Cruise Ship
So many have died on cruise ships due to COVID-19. If it’s the fault of the cruise ship or other parties, you should let us know so that we can help you to receive all of the compensation that you deserve.
All too often, cruise ships have provided insufficient or even negligent medical attention for those with COVID-19. They have forced crew members to work in unsafe conditions, not enforcing social distancing standards, refused crew necessary protective equipment, and not even let anyone know that there are suspected COVID-19 cases on the ship.
Those are just some of the ways that cruise ships and other parties, through their negligence, may have led to pain, suffering, and wrongful death. If you believe there’s any chance this has happened to someone you love, it’s worth it to reach out to us.
Call Our Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If you or someone you love were injured on a cruise ship, we’re here to help. You only have so much time to bring one of these cases. Reaching out to an attorney can help in a variety of ways. We can connect you to medical professionals who, like us, you won’t have to pay out of pocket but rather out of your eventual settlement.
That’s just one of the ways that we can help. If you were injured on a cruise ship, we can represent you aggressively and get you what you should have. Hablamos Espanol. For a free consultation with an experienced cruise ship accident lawyer, call us.
