One travel firm specialising in ocean voyages says it’s having its busiest booking period ever and a recent survey suggests passengers see cruise ships as offering security, relaxation and great facilities.
Whenever you embark on a cruise, the crew, cruise carrier and tour operator have a duty of care to you as a passenger. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but they can be spoilt by injury or illness and it’s worth knowing what your rights are.
Cruise Ship Accidents & Illnesses
Holidaymakers see ocean voyages as a leisurely way to travel and there are various rules in place to ensure their safety. Should those rules be breached – leaving you with an injury or illness, you could be entitled to compensation.
Having successfully launched claims against several well-known tour and cruise operators, our cruise ship holiday accident claim lawyers are extremely experienced in this field.
In one recent case a cruise operator agreed a £19,000 damages settlement with our client who was left with permanent scarring to her face after being hit by a bottle dropped by a waiter. It ruined what was meant to be a ‘dream holiday of a lifetime’.
The settlement was agreed with operator Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL Cruises Limited), which admitted liability without any dispute.
The settlement was agreed to compensate her for the pain, suffering and scarring, loss of enjoyment on her holiday and financial losses, given the trip had cost her close to £6,000.
As part of the case it was alleged the cruise company had breached its duty of care to the passenger and failed to exercise reasonable care and skill to ensure she was safe.
Read more: £19,000 damages for cruise ship passenger left with facial scar
In another case a woman and her husband were on a TUI Marella Cruises 14-day trip of the Caribbean.
Halfway through, the couple were on the open deck when the woman moved towards a sun lounger to sit down. However, it flipped as a result of windy conditions and hit her above her eye.
Our client required stitches and eventually our travel litigation experts achieved a successful accident on holiday claim, securing a damages settlement of £7,750.
The legal case against TUI alleged that the accident at sea happened as a result of failings over the inspection and maintenance of the sun lounger, which exposed our client to a risk of injury, or to provide sun loungers which were of safe design for use in windy conditions.
Cruise ship bed collapsed
Damages of £7,750 were awarded to another client, a passenger on a MSC cruise ship after his cabin bed collapsed beneath him.
The trip was a 65th birthday surprise but ended with him having to be given painkilling injections twice a day.
Read more: Damages awarded to cruise ship passenger after cabin bed collapsed
The Athens Convention
The international carriage of passengers by sea is governed under English law by the Athens Convention and provides for compensation in the case of death or injury to passengers on ships engaged in international voyages.
Our travel claims experts have cited the convention when making successful claims for damages on behalf of our clients.
In another case our expert cruise ship accident lawyers helped a woman secure damages after being injured on a trip from Hull to the Netherlands.
On the first day of the two-night P&O cruise on the Pride of Rotterdam ship, the woman went to her cabin, where there was a defect with the bed that made the side stick out. Our client did not see this and hit her leg on the side of the bed where the defect was.
She saw the onboard medic who gave her some ice for her leg and an accident report was completed. Her leg was sore for the full trip so when she returned home she visited her local GP.
On behalf of our client we claimed the accident at sea happened as a result of failed inspections, maintenance and repairs to the cabin furniture and as a result our client was not reasonably safe during the trip.
Our lawyers successfully secured accident compensation for the woman of £1,200 after liability for the accident at sea was admitted by P&O.
Read more: Clients make cruise ship accident claim after injuries ‘ruin’ trips at sea
Other Accidents at Sea
Accident at sea claims are not just limited to traditional passenger vessels like ocean liners; they also apply to ferries, pleasure craft, yachts, jet skis and speed boats.
If you suffer an accident or injury that was caused by poor safety measures or as a result of someone else’s negligence, you could bring a case against them.
Package Holidays
When booking a cruise ship holiday it’s worth remembering that you get peace of mind booking a package holiday because of the added benefits that the Package Travel Regulations give consumers.
Holiday claims made under the Package Travel Regulations usually fall into the following four categories:
- Personal injury: Compensation for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity of any injury or illness sustained abroad.
- Diminution in value: The difference between the amount you paid for the package holiday and what you actually received; sometimes known as “loss of bargain”.
- Loss of enjoyment: Compensation for the distress and disappointment caused by things going wrong.
- Out-of-pocket expenses: Any reasonable expenses you were forced to incur as a result of your injury or illness.
Not every claim falls into every category. My advice if you’ve been affected by any of the circumstances outlined above is to seek specialist legal advice.
If you’ve recognised that you or a member of your family has come to harm as a result of an injury abroad because of the actions of someone else, then you have the right to seek compensation.
The first step is to get in touch. You can begin by contacting us via our claim form and selecting Holiday Accident.