Are You a Passenger Injured in an Accident at Sea?

Massachusetts maritime injury attorney handling nationwide passenger injury claims for boat accidents and cruise ship claims

National Maritime Injury Attorneys Help Passengers Nationwide

Passengers on cruises,  ferries, whale watches to sport fishing boats  have a legal right to bring lawsuits against the boat owners and operators for their. However, passengers on boats, particularly cruise ships and some ferries, have special limitations placed on their ability to file lawsuits against the ship owners and operators for the injuries they sustain while aboard the ship. Sometimes, these limitations can severely affect passenger claims and may even restrict their ability to recover the compensation they need to move forward. You must understand the process for filing a lawsuit after a boat accident which can be especially difficult if you want to sue a cruise ship or a ferry.

An experienced maritime injury attorney can help ensure that injured passengers do not miss the opportunity to obtain the compensation they deserve. If you have been injured on a ferry boat, cruise ship, yacht, sailboat, excursion raft, pleasure boat or any other type of vessel, please contact the maritime attorneys at Latti & Anderson LLP.We have more than 50 years representing passengers hurt nationwide due to the negligent actions or inactions of boat owners and their crew.

Personal Injury Lawsuit Process for a Passenger Injured on the Water.

  1.  Determine Statute of Limitations - Generally, under maritime law, the statute of limitations for passengers injured at sea to file a lawsuit is three years. If a claim is not brought within that time you are barred from bringing it in the future.However, vessel owners and operators can change that time period for you to file suit and also require you to provide notice, and that time period is usually much less than three years. This changed time period is stated on the ticket when you purchased your trip. Unfortunately, the courts have upheld these deadlines and their application to passengers.
  2. Examine Ticket to Determine if any Conditions and Limitations - To determine the conditions and limitations that may apply, you need to examine your ticket to see what is written as the ticket will control.  If you no longer have your ticket, many times, the conditions or limitations are posted on the website for company.

Generally, the common limitations and conditions are:

  • Provide a written notice to the owner of the vessel, the operator or an agent of the vessel that they intend to bring a claim for the injury
  • Provide this notice within a certain time period which is generally six months, but can be as early as three months after the injury or accident
  • Bring a lawsuit within one year of the accident after filing the written notice in the court and and location/state stated in the ticket
  • Apply a certain area of law to the claim

However, these timeframes to file written notice and injury lawsuit do not apply to all passengers and it is important to determine if they do. With these tight timeframes and because the conditions are different depending on your ticket, you must speak with an experienced maritime injury attorney as soon as you are able to do so. If, on the other hand, the vessel did not give you a ticket, you have to protect your rights differently and the typical three-year statute of limitations may or may not apply. Consult with legal counsel to make sure you do not miss your window to file a written notice and claim.

Call Our National Maritime Trial Injury Attorney Today to Avoid Missing Lawsuit Deadlines

If you do not provide notice of your intent to sue within the proper time, you will not be able to sue. If you do provide notice but fail to file your lawsuit within the proper time, your lawsuit will be thrown out and you will miss an opportunity to receive any type of damages.

The maritime attorneys at Latti & Anderson LLP have over 50 years of maritime law experience helping passengers injured on cruise shipsferry boats, whale watch boats and sport fishing trips nationwide. Our attorneys can make sure your suit is filed correctly and on time, so you do not miss your chance to recover compensation for your injuries. We serve clients all over the nation – call us today at (800) 392-6072 to tell our attorneys about your case.