Cruise Injury Blog

COVID-19 is impacting nearly every aspect of people’s lives these days, including how they navigate the law. Case in point: a couple has recently decided to sue a cruise line for negligence and bad decision making when it came to the health and safety of the passengers on the ship.

Certainly, cruise ships have been in the news for mass infections of coronavirus among their passengers and some people feel the cruise lines should be held responsible. Yet the question remains, should these be done through private litigation or class action suits?

What’s the difference between a class action suit and private lawsuits? Which one may is best in your circumstances? Here’s what you need to know.

What Are Class Action Lawsuits?

A class-action lawsuit is a lawsuit brought forward on behalf of a group that has been affected by the entity being sued.

The travel industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic. One of the worst-hit sectors has been the cruise industry, which has had to entirely suspend operations on top of receiving bad publicity after numerous outbreaks affected multiple vessels.

During the most recent round of stimulus funding, many areas of the travel industry got a bailout. However, according to the NY Times, the cruise industry has been completely disregarded due to tax law. Because these companies are not headquartered in the US and don’t pay taxes as US companies, they do not qualify for the stimulus package.

This has left many of the major cruise companies in a bind. Many of these businesses have furloughed workers en mass, sending them home without pay. Not all workers have suffered this fate, though, which leaves open the possibility of cruise companies being in breach of

What if you booked a $32,000 cruise before coronavirus hit and the cruise line refused to let you cancel it? That’s exactly what’s happening to one Hawaiian family.

When they contacted Norwegian out of COVID-19 fear and said they wanted out of the trip, the cruise line said no. Even worse? They aren’t the only ones.

The silver lining is, in the wake of this viral pandemic, many travel companies are modifying their cancellation policies. This is an effort to cope with the influx of claims from passengers concerned with the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Learn here what you should look for in the bylines of your current travel documents as well as the latest cancellation policy changes among major cruise lines in the US.

What to Look for in the Fine Print

When the Hawaiian family tried to cancel their Norwegian cruise,

Imagine being on a cruise, sailing along, and then the worst happens – the coronavirus breaks out on board and you’re forced to stay quarantined on the ship.

You don’t have to work so hard to imagine this scenario because it’s exactly what happened to travelers aboard the Diamond Princess. Passengers on this ship have been embroiled in a nearly month-long ordeal of confusing quarantine directives…and the worst part? Fear.

This may quell the desire of many to book a cruise any time in the near future, but the fact is, it doesn’t really matter when you choose to cruise — amidst a possible pandemic like coronavirus, there are proper procedures and protocols to follow ensuring everyone’s legal rights are upheld.

The problem with the current medical crisis is that, as Princess officials admit, they weren’t. Here’s what you should know about cruise ship

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, 13 American cruise ship passengers were evacuated from Japan back to the U.S. this month. The passengers were quarantined for two weeks and have tested positive for the deadly virus. They are currently receiving treatment at the University of Nebraska medical center.

Because there is certainly no quick flight from Japan to Nebraska, amidst the chaos of this deadly outbreak, it’s time to talk about the insurance of Med-Evac coverage.

What Having Med-Evac Coverage Means

Med-Evac coverage, or medical evacuation coverage, will foot the bill if you need to quickly get off a cruise ship or shore excursion and seek care. Many travelers believe that med-evac coverage is tucked away into their standard travel insurance policy. That is rarely the case.

Go over the fine print before you get travel insurance and consider a med-evac add-on if you are

Coronavirus has been all over the news recently. It’s a highly contagious illness responsible for hundreds of deaths throughout China so far. For people planning on traveling to or near China, this is obviously concerning, and many people want to cancel their cruise tickets to the area.

Understanding what cruise lines are doing about travel to areas affected by coronavirus may seriously impact your cruise vacation plans.

The primary issue is a number of cruise lines aren’t refunding all of these tickets because of their own out-of-pocket costs. In fact, some companies are making it harder than normal to refund tickets for these cruises. Others are simply altering their itineraries to avoid the area.

Cruise Companies Refusing Refunds

Multiple major cruise lines are refusing to cancel trips or issue refunds on trips with ports in China. These companies include:

Celebrity Cruises; Holland America Line;

Depending on how long you’ve worked in the cruise industry, you probably well know that working on the high seas can be just as dangerous as it is thrilling.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to bounce back after an injury. If you are hurt while working on a cruise ship or other maritime vessel, it won’t be long until bills start piling up. What you may not be aware of is that you may be entitled to benefits and compensation.

Multiple laws, including the Jones Act and Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), were passed to protect you and your family in the case of a work injury (or even death) on the high seas.

If you were recently injured while working on a vessel, reach out to a Florida personal injury attorney who specializes in maritime law. In the meantime, learn more here