Port of Galveston Cruise Ship Accidents and Injuries Lawyers

Port Galveston, the biggest cruise ship port in Texas, sees off millions of tourists on cruises through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Cruises are a top vacation pick for people of all ages and interests because they have something to offer to everyone. Equally promising for adventurers and relaxers, cruises promise passengers a great time. Unfortunately, cruise lines too often make mistakes that cause injury or illness to passengers that spoil their long-awaited, expensive vacation – and possibly follow them for the rest of their lives. Cruise lines are responsible for their guests’ and employees’ safety, including preventing the many possible opportunities for injuries or illnesses during a cruise experience.

If you or someone you love has suffered an injury or illness on a cruise ship, you may be entitled to financial compensation that can help alleviate your suffering. Louis A. Vucci P.A. believes you shouldn’t have to be financially responsible for an injury that the cruise line should have been able to prevent. A cruise ship injury not only ruins your vacation experience, but it can lead to many long-term physical and financial problems (such as prolonged recovery time and loss of wages from the time you are forced to take off work), not to mention the high cost of medical bills and your personal pain and suffering. Our firm is dedicated to helping victims of cruise ship injuries pursue financial compensation. We have both the experience and the knowledge of the law that has helped us win case after case, and we want to help you do the same. To learn more about your legal options, contact us today for a free consultation at (786) 375-0344.

Why You Need a Cruise Ship Attorney

As legal questions of liability and problems with insurance arise, a cruise ship injury case can become complicated quickly. Without legal experience, it can be difficult for you to obtain the full amount of financial compensation you are entitled to. The cruise line you are pursuing a case against is likely to have strong legal representation, so you will want the same to ensure a positive outcome. A good lawyer will allow you to relax while they fight for your rights on your behalf.

It is not only important to hire an attorney, but specifically an attorney with significant experience handling cruise ship claims. Cruise ship injuries are unique among personal injury claims because many of them occur in international waters or on foreign shores, and most cruise ships are registered in foreign countries. This makes determining what laws apply in your case extraordinarily complicated, even for a seasoned personal injury lawyer. Only lawyers with significant experience in cruise ship law will know how to ensure you get the full amount of compensation you deserve after your accident.

Why Choose Louis A. Vucci P.A.?

Louis A. Vucci P.A. is dedicated to victims of personal injuries on cruise ships from the time their case is opened to the day they receive their financial compensation. In fact, cruise ship law is all we do! We believe in the relationships we form with our clients, taking time to listen to you about your case and working hard to obtain any and all information that will make your case as strong as it can be. We firmly believe you should not have to be financially responsible for an injury which was not your fault, an injury which your cruise line failed to prevent. With a strong track record of success, including millions of dollars recovered in compensation for our clients, and the trust of clients all around the nation, we are confident in our ability to work your case. In fact, you don’t have to pay us anything until after we’ve won your case.

Cases We Handle

Cruises that leave from Port Galveston travel through bright blue seas, taking passengers to beautiful and exotic destinations throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America. Unfortunately, being in the middle of a vast ocean or docked at an underdeveloped country can make emergency situations that much scarier – and more dangerous. During a medical emergency on a cruise, it can take hours or even days for a patient to be transferred from a cruise ship medical center to a hospital on land. To avoid that delay, ship medical staff may fail to fully treat your symptoms, leading to further complications or prolonged recovery. There are many opportunities for mistreatment or other negligence by medical staff on board a cruise ship, who have the responsibility of keeping you safe on board by preventing injuries and illnesses. Louis A. Vucci P.A. can help you seek compensation for the following cases:

Onboard Passenger Claims

If you were injured or fell ill while on your cruise ship, Louis A. Vucci P.A. can help you recover compensation for your medical expenses and other pain and suffering. Common cruise ship injuries include the following:

  • Slip and fall accidents and injuries
  • Water slide injuries
  • Wave pool injuries
  • Injuries from a physical assault or theft
  • Illness from a norovirus outbreak
  • Illness from food contamination or food poisoning

Cruise companies have a responsibility to maintain their ships and provide a safe experience for all guests while aboard.

Onshore Excursion Claims

Even if your accident did not happen on the cruise ship itself, the cruise line can still be responsible for your safety. If you were injured on a tender ship, its dock, or the cruise ship’s dock, you could be compensated if staff negligence caused your accident. Alternately, if you were on an excursion led by the cruise ship and were injured due to unsafe conditions, such as a motor vehicle accident, your injuries could be covered. Some common forms of onshore injuries include:

  • Tender boat injuries
  • Gangway injuries
  • Excursion activity injuries, including ziplining, parasailing, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, and more
  • Assault while on an excursion

If your cruise line helped you arrange your excursion where you were injured, it is very possible that you can hold them accountable for your injuries.

Medical Crew Negligence

If you need to seek medical attention while aboard a cruise ship, there is usually a full medical staff with enough equipment and medication to adequately diagnose and treat most ailments passengers might experience while on a cruise. However, if the medical staff was negligent in your treatment, including problems with a misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or failure to treat you adequately and in a timely manner, they could cause you to suffer more and for a longer period of time. If inadequate treatment or misdiagnosis exacerbated your medical problems, you could seek financial compensation due to negligence.

Assault

While cruise lines have the responsibility of providing security for all passengers against physical assaults and theft, none is more important than protecting against sexual assault. If you were physically or sexually assaulted on your cruise, call Louis A. Vucci P.A. to learn more about your options to seek financial compensation and hold the negligent parties who could have prevented the assault responsible.

Port of Galveston Information

The Port of Galveston began seeing off cruise ships in 2000 and has welcomed over 9 million cruise passengers since, with upwards of 100,000 passengers per month leaving from there during peak months. The Port of Galveston is popular among most major cruise lines. It’s the busiest port in Texas and the fourth busiest in the United States. Cruise lines choose to dock at the Port of Galveston because of its accessibility for most Texans and its proximity to several international and regional airports, including Houston.

Cruise Ship Lines That Leave From the Port of Galveston

Many popular cruise lines leave from the Port of Galveston, including the following:

  • Disney
  • Carnival
  • Royal Caribbean
  • Viking Cruises

The excellent reputations that many of these cruise lines maintain does not exempt them from passenger injury complaints. Contact Louis A. Vucci P.A. if you were injured during your cruise on one of these lines or any other that embarked from Galveston.

Cruise Injury Statistics

Cruises are popular vacations for people all around the world for many reasons. In 2012 alone, more than 20 million people took a cruise vacation, and 11 million of those people were Americans. Cruises entertain many people at once, with the average ship carrying around 2,000 passengers and nearly 1,000 employees who are there to ensure each passenger has a good experience. Unfortunately, though, cruise ship accidents still cause many passengers to deal with injuries or illnesses during their vacations. Hundreds of accidents can happen on just one cruise ship in only one year.

International Maritime Health conducted a case study of one cruise ship that experienced 663 accidents over a three-year period. Most accidents happen on board the ship — usually inside passenger cabins — but there were also accidents that took place during offshore excursions as well. Almost 45 percent of injuries were due to falls on the cruise ship, and most illnesses people suffered on board were food borne illnesses caused by improper sanitation or poor food quality.

Contact Louis A. Vucci P.A. Today

You should not have to be financially responsible for an injury you suffered on a cruise, one that could severely impact your life in so many ways through high medical expenses, lost wages from time off work, and other pain and suffering from a long recovery or severe injury. Attorney Louis A. Vucci P.A. is here to fight for your rights. Let us build a strong case for you while you focus on your recovery. To learn more about the details of your case in a free legal consultation, contact us at (786) 375-0344 today.