Filing A Wrongful Death Claim Against Norwegian Cruise Lines

/ Briefing, Law Firms, US Law / / By
Liberty of the seas at sea

COVID Pandemic Sees Lawsuits Against Cruise Lines at Tip of Iceberg

Losing a family member is always a moment of sadness and often trauma, but when the family member passes away on vacation it is more so. Every year, there are about 200 deaths on cruise ships. Some of those passengers may have died of natural causes. People who take cruises tend to be older and the cruises can go on for months.

However the COVID-19 pandemic has seen cruise lines particularly hard hit by lawsuits following the pandemic, with some cruises faced lengthy quarantines at sea, and cruise ship operations were suspended from all US ports of call.

Observers have indicated that the lawsuits and class actions taken to date against cruise lines, airlines, insurance companies and both federal and state governments are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to future litigation.

“This early litigation is really, from our vantage point, the tip of the iceberg. The level of litigation could really go into so many different directions,” Harold Kim, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, told USA Today in a recent report.

But of course COVID-19 is not the only reason attributed to cruise line deaths.

Many of the people who die on cruises pass away because of the negligence of the cruise line and some of them have been aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), who have faced a number of lawsuits including investor lawsuits.

In March a shareholder in NCLfiled a stock drop securities class action in the Southern District of Florida, which challenged statements made by NCL on and after February 20, 2020, in which the company allegedly minimized the likely impact of the coronavirus outbreak on NCL’s operations and omitted information regarding allegedly deceptive sales practices that were undertaken after the pandemic broke.

As the Washington Post recently reported, the spate of recent lawsuits against the travel industry has helped passengers facing the wide variety of legal issues they face when travelling and sustaining injury or worse.

How a Cruise Line Can be Responsible for Wrongful Death

Any business has a Duty of Care to its customers. Duty of Care means that each individual has an obligation to take other people’s well-being under consideration. A cruise line may have neglected its duty of care if someone drowned in their swimming pool, ate food from the ship’s kitchen that killed them, or slipped and fell on the deck. 

The range of potential injuries and fatalities as a result of negligence is considerable and has also contributed to the surge of lawsuits against cruise lines, just as their popularity – pre-COVID – had surged.

Deaths from Passengers Falling Overboard

Although it does happen, very few passengers fall overboard due to the negligence of the cruise line. when cruise ships are built, every precaution is taken to ensure that people who are supposed to be on the boat stay on board, and those who are not, will not be able to climb aboard. People who fall overboard tend to be engaging in horseplay. Several people a year also commit suicide by throwing themself into the ocean. 

There are, however, workers who die or are injured in the line of duty. They may fall overboard if they are asked to perform work that is unsafe.

COVID’s effect on Cruise Ship Wrongful Death Cases

The Coronavirus has had a huge impact on the cruise industry. People have acquired the illness on cruise ships and some have lost their lives because of it. Certainly, their immediate family members could sue the line for wrongful death.

There were several cruise ships that stranded crew members at sea. Not only did some of these workers die from COVID, but several also committed suicide because they had no idea when they were coming back and the company refused to pay for charter flights to get them home safely.

What to do if Your Loved One Was Killed Aboard a Ship

Maritime laws can be somewhat confusing when it comes to personal injury. If you have lost a loved one to a shipboard accident you must hire an attorney in the state out of which the cruise line does business. If you were to file a claim against Norwegian Cruise Lines, you would have to find a lawyer in Miami, Florida because that is where they operate from.

Normally one would have two years to file a wrongful death suit in the Sunshine State, but you may have less time if the accident took place aboard a cruise ship. There are often provisions included in a ticket limiting the number of months a person or their family has to file a suit for personal injury or wrongful death. 

The most important thing you need to do when you want to sue a company for wrongful death is to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer. You can learn more about common Norwegian lawsuits here from Florida-based legal specialists operating in the travel business.

Source:

Lipcon Margulies Alsina & Winkleman are maritime accident legal specialists based in Florida. Details about the firm may be seen here.

Authoritative Sources:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/What-happens-when-someone-dies-on-a-cruise/

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What should be included in a personal injury claim in New York?

/ Personal Injury Attorney / October 17, 2020 / By
Jesseminc lawfuel

Owen Collins – Personal injury claims are generally consistent regarding particular elements of a claim unless they egregious gross negligence cases. Gross negligence can result in the possibility of punitive damages on top of the basic compensatory damages in these cases.

Compensatory damages are the primary elements, including both economic and non-economic general damages.

These general damages are usually what actually makes the injured claimant financially whole following an accident. Along with punitive damages, these are the financial recovery items that all insurance providers want to avoid paying. They are also the primary elements of compensation that a personal injury lawyer will pursue diligently in obtaining equitable compensation for their client’s injuries.

There are essentially three kinds of personal injury claims:

  1. Work related injury claims – this involves compensation for an injury incurred at work.
  2. Personal injury due to medical negligence –a medical-related injury claim as a result of some negligence.
  3. Claims for injury in car accident – the common, car injury claim.

Pecuniary Damages

Pecuniary damages are the first element of an accident injury claim, and they include financial recovery from medical bills, lost wages when the claimant cannot work due to the claimed injuries, and reimbursement for physical property damage such as a totaled automobile.

Incidental necessary expenses can also be included such as transportation costs to and from rehab appointments if physical therapy is a component of the injury recovery process. These are damages that can be specified in discreet numbers for recovery, but they can matter when non-economic compensatory general damages are being calculated.

General Damages

All injuries will have ongoing repercussions after the injury claim is settled. Accident injury cases are based on negligence, and details can be significant when financial compensation is being sought.

Our firm, for instance, recovered $7.8 million for a child who suffered anoxic brain damage and spastic quadrapesis as as result of a surgeon’s failure to recognize a bleed caused by an improperly-performed rectal biopsy. It is just these sort of claims, often technical and complex in their nature, that require a special expertise to both determine the evidential nature of the ‘damage’, whether medical, auto accident or otherwise, and to then actually work towards a successful settlement or recovery.

Determining general damages can be a complicated issue that often requires input from an experienced attorney who can look at the various areas of interest, which would include:

  • Medical bills and costs – Both past and future medical treatment, including adaptive medical devices, pain management therapies, physical therapy, transport costs etc.
  • Lost income – Lost income from work is a compensation area and if the injury is permanent you should receive compensation for 100 percent of your lost wages. If you can only work again in some diminished capacity, then you can be entitled to the difference between what you earned before and after the injury.
  • Pain and suffering – Insurance companies sometimes use “pain multipliers” where actual loss is multiplied by a specific number to determine the ‘value’ of the loss.
  • Emotional distress – Such compensation covers things like insomnia, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or other emotional issues as a result of your injury.

Clearly, this is the most contentious component of any claim, as insurance claims agents and attorneys want to avoid these payments in as much as it is possible. General damages are also generally omitted when claims agents make quick low-ball offers for claimants to settle a case without legal representation as well, which could be a bad faith tactic when your legal counsel reviews the case.

Extended Exemplary and Punitive Damages

Some injury cases have very serious elements of gross negligence, such as being hit by a drunk driver, and punitive damages could be available when a personal injury lawyer opts to take a case to trial.

All punitive damages are awarded by a jury and are not part of a typical claim. However, this possibility can impact a claim settlement negotiation. Bad faith negotiations tactics by insurance providers could also result in an additional claim against the insurance providers themselves for encouraging a claimant to not seek legal counsel for their injury claim or for unduly denying or intentionally delaying a claim payment or settlement offer. Cases of vehicle malfunction could also result in product liability cases under certain circumstances, but this is most common when it is a component of the injury claim material evidence established in court.

It is important for injured victims to understand that the material factors of their case can matter significantly when claims are being settled, including the level of personal fault they share in causing their own injury.

Under pure comparative negligence law, New York injury victims are only denied compensation when they are totally at fault for their own injuries.

Even with a shared fault claim it is important to ensure there is experienced representation from an attorney, such as personal injury lawyer Minc, who can assess the likely damages and work towards an equitable settlement.

Source:

Jesse Minc, personal injury attorney practising in New York and who is also a Bronx medical malpractice lawyer. Details on the law practise may be seen here.

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