How to Sue a Cruise Line and Where to File a Cruise Ship Lawsuit

These venue selection clauses have been held by the courts including the United States Supreme Court to be enforceable under the law which applies to the tickets, the general maritime law. See, Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991).

Understanding Venue Selection Clauses

The venue selection clause for each cruise line is located in the cruise lines’ “terms and conditions.” The “terms and conditions” are usually about 16 to 20 pages of legal gobbledygook and doublespeak. They are located on the cruise lines’ websites. No one reads them. Even if you did read them, you may not understand them.

These “terms and conditions” are written by lawyers with one purpose in mind: to protect the cruise line and to make it as hard as possible for you to bring suit against them.

When do I have to bring a claim against a cruise line? Is there a time limit?

There is a time limit for everything in life. And that includes when you have to bring a claim against a cruise line. Cruise passengers who are adults and are injured have 1 year from the date of the injury.

But for injuries to certain people or for a death, the time limit can be up to 3 years. There is a Federal statute which applies to this. That statute is 46 USC Sec. 30508(b)(2) and (d). The statute says that if a minor child or someone who is incompetent is injured, or for the family of someone who dies from the negligence of the cruise line, the time limit is extended up to 3 years. So for a minor child or incompetent person who is injured or for the family of a passenger who dies, the answer is a little more complicated. In those cases, the time clock does not start to run until “the date a legal representative is appointed for the minor, incompetent, or decedent’s estate or 3 years after the injury or death” whichever comes first. The time limit in the cruise passenger ticket is almost always 1 year. But the one year does not start to run until that legal representative is appointed by a court.

This time limit of up to 3 years would apply to a case of sexual assault of a minor child. If someone sexually assaulted a minor child on a cruise, the time for bringing a claim may not now be gone even though most cruise ships have not sailed with passengers in over a year.

When in doubt, call the maritime attorneys who specialize in this specialized area, Hickey Law Firm. Call us now. 1.800.215.7117.