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Although the Port of Houston no longer serves as an active cruise port, the State of Texas still sees plenty of business from cruising companies through the Port of Galveston and other ports along the state’s southeastern coastline. Unfortunately, not every cruise liner fulfills their duty to provide paying customers aboard with reasonable protection from harm, sometimes leading to serious injuries and illnesses with lasting effects.
Filing suit over harm sustained on a cruise ship works very differently from filing suit over a personal injury suffered on land, making the assistance of a local maritime accident attorney especially crucial to the success of this kind of claim. With a knowledgeable Pearland cruise ship injury lawyer by your side, you could have a much better chance of establishing fault for your losses and achieving fair financial recovery.
Negligence Leading to Cruise Ship Accidents
Even though they are meant to be relaxing escapes from the hassles of everyday life, trips on commercial cruise liners carry numerous and unique risks of injury and illness for those on board. While catastrophic accidents on the water like collisions and sinkings are extremely rare in the cruising industry, injuries and fatalities from falls overboard are sadly common, and many of these incidents stem from a failure by cruise ship workers and owners to provide appropriate protection for guests.
Likewise, recklessness or carelessness by someone within a cruising company could lead to accidents like:
- Slips or trips and falls
- Drownings in pools or during shore excursions
- Food poisoning or transmission of infectious diseases like norovirus
- Grounding due to negligent operation
- Negligent security
- Medical negligence in a ship’s infirmary
Any of these situations or similar ones stemming from misconduct by cruise personnel could give rise to a civil claim for damages. A Pearland cruise ship accident attorney could discuss specific options for your particular circumstances in more detail.
Special Rules for Claims against Cruise Ship Companies
Sales brochures, tickets, and related documentation from the company operating a particular cruise should provide specific information about what rights a passenger aboard their vessel may have to file suit over an injury or illness they experience during their trip. Because cruise ships almost always operate in international waters, standard Texas personal injury laws generally do not apply to injuries sustained on cruise ships due to there being “negligence at sea.”
Notably, most cruising companies operating out of Texas allow a maximum of one year after an accident on one of their ships for an injured individual to file suit, which is a much shorter deadline than the one provided under state law for most personal injury claims for accidents on land. In this respect and many others, guidance from a knowledgeable cruise ship injury lawyer in Pearland can be essential to effectively pursuing a settlement or civil court verdict for an injury on or around a cruise ship.
Get in Touch with a Pearland Cruise Ship Injury Attorney Today
Injuries while aboard cruise ships can be difficult to deal with in both the short- and long-term. Even if you can recover from the physical harm you sustained over time, pursuing fair financial restitution for your ensuing losses requires a very different legal process compared to the one you might engage in after a car wreck or other type of land-based accident.
Fortunately, help is available from a dedicated Pearland cruise ship injury lawyer with experience in successfully handling cases just like yours. Call today to schedule a meeting with a legal professional.
