An issue which comes up from time to time in cruise injury cases is which law governs the lawsuit. Such was the focus in a recent case involving a Royal Caribbean passenger who was hurt after falling from his wheelchair while being transported from the Majesty of the Seas to the Port of Miami’s parking lot. The issue before the court is whether to apply federal maritime law or Florida land-based law.
Cruise Injuries, Accidents & Mishaps for the Week of September 2, 2013
September 8, 2013
Keith S. Brais
Cruise Ship Crew Member Injury Law
Cruise Ship Passenger Injury Law
Injured Crew Member Medevaced from the Carnival Conquest
A landmark case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana finds maritime companies are not entitled to repayment of maintenance and cure wrongly provided to injured seaman even if the crewmember lied on his employment application. Maintenance is a living stipend that employers must pay seamen injured while in service and subject to the call of the ship up until the time the medical condition plateaus. Cure is medical treatment for the injury.
Two judges in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County Florida arrived at opposite conclusions as to whether Americans who suffered horrors in the Costa Concordia disaster can maintain their lawsuits in Florida. In both cases, Costa Cruise Lines along with its parent company Carnival Cruises filed motions to dismiss based upon the legal doctrine of forum non conveniens. This doctrine in simplest terms is that a case should not be tried in a particular jurisdiction if it would be too inconvenient to conduct the case in that certain geographical location. Given the complexities of such cases often times courts view the issues differently and give differing opinions. Such an instance of differing opinions is shown in the cases of Abeid-Saba v. Carnival Corp. and Scimone v. Carnival Corp. decided on the same day in Miami, Florida.
More and more courts are finding cruise line’s personal injury arbitration agreements unenforceable when it comes to American crewmembers. The latest case comes from the Middle District of Florida wherein an American ice skater employed by Royal Caribbean Cruises was injured while performing aboard the Voyager of the Seas off the coast of Mexico. The injured seafarer filed a lawsuit against the cruise line asserting claims for Jones Act negligence, Unseaworthienss and Failure to Provide Maintenance and Cure in a Florida state court. As typical with employee claims, Royal Caribbean removed the case to Federal court located in Tampa and filed a motion to compel enforcement of an agreement to arbitration pursuant to the United National Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
