Did you sustain a personal injury aboard a cruise ship near Destin, FL? If so, you may have legal options regarding a claim against the responsible party. You can recover compensation to make up for your pain and suffering, lost wages, other financial expenses, and more if you win or settle your case. We can help you through the process from start to finish.
Brannon & Brannon Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers has been helping accident victims in the area since 1990. Our Destin cruise ship accident lawyers have more than 60 years of combined experience in personal injury law. Since we opened our doors, we’ve obtained millions of dollars in compensation for our deserving clients.
To get started, call (850) 863-5297 today or contact us online. We offer a completely free, no-strings-attached consultation to review your cruise ship accident case.
How Brannon & Brannon Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Cruise Ship Accident in Destin
If you’re like most people, you go on a cruise to enjoy yourself and experience a unique getaway from everyday life. The last thing you expect to happen is to suffer an injury and deal with the resulting financial, physical, mental, and emotional consequences. If this has happened to you, you deserve to be compensated by the at-fault person or entity.
If you hire Brannon & Brannon Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers to help you after a cruise ship accident in Destin, Florida, you’ll have an award-winning legal team to go to bat for you while you recover from your injuries. One of our founding attorneys is a former insurance defense lawyer, which gives us an advantage in settlement negotiations with insurers. Our Destin personal injury lawyers can help with your case by:
- Internally investigating the facts and circumstances of your accident
- Enlisting the services of experts, as needed, to analyze and enhance your compensation claim
- Communicating and negotiating with the at-fault party on your behalf
- If the opposing party refuses to settle your case, we’ll be prepared to file a lawsuit and take your case to court
- Keeping you up-to-date on your legal options and your case’s status at all times
Contact us today to set up your free case evaluation if you’re ready to begin forming an attorney-client relationship or have any questions.
How Often Do Cruise Ship Accidents Occur?
The cruise ship industry is expected to reach $25.1 billion by the end of 2023. Cruises are especially popular in the United States, with US citizens making up well over a third of the overall number of cruise passengers in 2021.
Fortunately, cruise ship accidents do not occur very often. The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) prepares regular incident reports regarding incidents taking place on cruise ships.
The most recent report is from Q4 2022 and notes that there were 36 reported incidents in that time frame (from October 1st to December 31st). However, in many quarters, there are no reported incidents at all or very few. For instance, there was only one reported incident in Q2 of 2021 (from April 1st to June 30th).
Even though cruise ship accidents are relatively rare, that doesn’t make your injuries and damages any less significant if you’ve been hurt in an incident. Contact our trusted Destin cruise ship accident attorneys for legal advice and help.
How Much Money Is My Destin Cruise Ship Accident Case Worth?
Each cruise ship accident case in Destin will have a unique value based on the facts and circumstances involved in the situation. Our legal team thoroughly evaluates every case we take on, which is sometimes a lengthy – yet necessary – step in the process. You’ll only be able to collect compensation from the at-fault party once, so it’s critical to demand an adequate amount.
Factors that could influence the value of your case include:
- The extent to which your injuries will impact your daily life
- The nature of the opposing party or parties
- How severe your injuries are, and what types of injuries you’ve sustained
- The availability of evidence to establish your claim
- Your age at the time of the accident
For further insight into how much your case might be worth, reach out to us today to schedule your free consultation.
We Can Help With Any Type of Cruise Ship Accident Case in Destin, Florida
There tend to be a few major categories of cruise ship accidents. While some cases involve a collision with the ship and another vessel or object, those are relatively rare. Common types of cruise ship accident cases include:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Assaults, including sexual assaults
- Infectious diseases
- Food-borne illnesses
- On-board medical malpractice or negligence
These are just a few examples of the types of accidents that can occur on cruise ships. Our personal injury lawyer in Destin can help you file a claim even if your accident type isn’t mentioned above.
What if I’m Being Blamed for My Cruise Ship Accident Injuries in Destin?
You may still be able to recover compensation even if the other side blames you for your Destin cruise ship accident injuries. However, because of Florida’s modified comparative negligence rules, your monetary award can be reduced based on your assigned percentage of fault. There is also a 51% bar to recovery.
For example, if you are assigned 25% of the blame, your damages award can be reduced by 25%. And if you are assigned 51% or more of the blame, you’ll be barred from recovering any compensation under Florida law.
It’s all but certain that the at-fault party will try to say the accident was your fault. If they successfully blame you, you may be precluded from recovering compensation. However, if you hireBrannon & Brannon Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers, we can respond to these kinds of allegations on your behalf effectively.
What Damages Can I Receive After a Destin, FL, Cruise Ship Accident?
The two primary types of damages you can recover in a personal injury claim are called economic and non-economic damages. These categories represent your financial losses and other losses that aren’t as easy to quantify, respectively. Examples of them include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Medical bills
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
- PTSD, anxiety, and depression
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Decreased earning capacity
- Emotional distress
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Rehabilitation
Punitive damages may be awarded in rare cases involving extraordinary conduct from the at-fault party. For instance, if the responsible party acted with malicious intent to cause you harm, punitive damages could be warranted.
Proving Negligence After a Cruise Ship Accident in Destin
Negligence, which means something close to “carelessness,” is the cause of action most personal injury claims are based on. In order to win a negligence claim, you must prove the following elements:
- Duty of Care
- Breach of Duty
- Causation (factual and proximate)
- Damages
Essentially, you will need to demonstrate that the opposing party acted unreasonably and carelessly, given the circumstances – causing you to suffer injuries and losses as a result.
You will have the burden of proof to establish each element “by a preponderance of the evidence,” which is a “more likely than not” standard. Types of evidence you can submit include medical records, eyewitness testimony, expert analysis, and more.
Our Destin cruise ship accident lawyers have the resources and experience to prove even the most complicated negligence cases. Call today for further information about what we can do in service of your legal claim.
What’s the Time Limit for Filing a Lawsuit After a Cruise Ship Accident?
The statute of limitations in Florida establishes when lawsuits must be filed by. The default deadline is two years if your accident happened on or after 3/24/2023 and four years if it happened prior to that date.
However, this is only the deadline for personal injury claims occurring within Florida’s jurisdiction. It is possible that another time limit applies to your case, as other laws or policies could determine when you must file your claim.
Because of this complexity – and because you’ll lose your ability to recover compensation if you file your lawsuit too late – we recommend contacting our law office as soon as possible to confirm your case’s timeline.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation With an Experienced Destin Cruise Ship Accident Attorney
You deserve compensation that accurately reflects all your losses if you’ve sustained an injury on a cruise ship in Destin, Florida. Our experienced Destin cruise ship accident attorneys can help with your case from the beginning.
We also work on a contingency fee basis, so you can hire us without paying a cent upfront. In addition, we only receive attorney’s fees if we obtain compensation for you.