Injured on a Boat? You Need an Expert in Admiralty and Maritime Law.

If you’re hurt while on vacation, especially while travelling in another country, the laws surrounding your situation can quickly become confusing, even overwhelming. Most people know that they are owed money and recompense if they were not responsible for the accident, but they don’t know where to start. What documentation do you need? Where do you file the suit? As an added complication, admiralty and maritime law, the legal rights that protect you if you’re injured while travelling on a cruise ship or boat in international waters, can be even more confusing.

The good news is that this legal specialty involves some of the oldest, most well-studied law in the world. In fact, the first references come to us from the times of ancient Rome. During this time, sailors had very few rights. They were only paid if their voyage returned a profit, and even then, they were paid according to rank. You can guess that many of the lower-ranked sailors often made nothing at all. This continued until Muslim clerics changed the face of international maritime law by requiring captains to pay Muslim sailors a set rate before they even left port.

Since then, the national and international conventions have been refined to protect the rights of everyone at sea, including sailors and other sea-going professionals and passengers aboard boats, cruise ships, and ocean-based platforms of all kinds. Generally speaking, the United States guarantees victims the right to obtain monetary compensation for injuries sustained at the fault of the employer, operator, or owner of the faulty ship. Compensation is typically awarded in the following three ways.

Maintenance – Federal regulations require employers to pay living expenses for injured employees and passengers, including rent, utilities, travel, and other vital expenses related to basic survival.
Cure – Vessel operators must pay for adequate medical care to injured passengers, as long as the care improves the victim’s ability to function normally.
Liens – If the owner or operator is unable to pay necessary damages to a cruise passenger, a victim may place a lien against the vessel, as long as it is seized by government officials. To accomplish this, the lawsuit must be brought in federal court.

In the United States, marine lawsuits must be filed within 3 years of sustaining the injury. However, it is vital that all cruise ship passengers retain their tickets and any other paperwork they are issued. The fact is that many of the large cruise companies operating today have contracts that reduce this statute of limitations to only 1 year. And typically, the fact that you purchased the ticket usually means that you have agreed to the terms of that contract.

No matter what happened, if you took a cruise and were injured, in either local or international waters, be sure to contact an attorney as soon as possible. Try to partner with an attorney or firm that has proven experience in these sorts of injuries. They will be able to help you determine your legal rights and secure any recompense you are entitled to.