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Californians Injured on Florida Cruise Ships Subject to Short Deadlines for Making Their Claims
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Each year, hundreds of thousands of Californians fly to Florida to take luxury cruises. Very few know that when they purchase their tickets, they give up significant legal rights. If they are injured on the cruise, they have a very short time period in which to assert a legal claim for their injuries, and then can only file suit in federal court in Florida, not a California state court near their home. Although we limit our practice to injuries caused by drug and medical devices, we were surprised to learn this, and want to get this information out there.
If you are injured on a Florida-based cruise, you should seek legal help immediately. Why? Because an injured person must notify the cruise company of their injury within six months. If they don't, they forfeit their right to file suit to recover for their injuries. This notice must meet certain legal requirements to preserve the claim, and ideally should be prepared by a knowledgeable attorney.
Even after sending an appropriate notice letter, the period in which a California cruise ship injury victim may file a lawsuit is extremely short. While the statute of limitations -- the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit -- is two years in California for a personal injury, a person injured on a Florida-based cruise ship must file suit within one year of being injured. Then, even if the person has lived in California their entire life, and only set foot in Florida to board the cruise ship, there is usually only one place they can file their lawsuit: federal court Miami, Florida.
How can a Florida-based cruise line limit the rights of people who live in other states? The reason is that injuries on cruise ships are governed not by the law of Florida or any other state, but by maritime law. Maritime law allows the cruise companies to restrict passengers' legal rights based on the fine print of the cruise ticket.
So if you, a family member, or a friend is injured on a Florida-based cruise, DO NOT DELAY. Contact an attorney for help as soon as possible. Although the attorneys at DeCarli Law are not maritime law specialists, we are happy to assist people injured on cruise ships in locating an attorney who can help them. |
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Posted By DeCarli Law on
July 14, 2011 07:30 pm |
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