Boarding a cruise ship can provide you with a fun and great experience. Whether it’s the fantastic accommodations, relaxing areas with entertainment, good food, and spectacular views of the water, you can get the most out of these perks when you’re on a cruise ship. However, enjoying your time in this luxurious boat doesn’t mean you’re immune to getting hurt. There’s still a high possibility you get involved in an accident and get injured during your stay.
When an accident happens, you may suffer an injury arising from food poisoning, assault by a crew member or another passenger, slip, and fall, staff negligence, and many others. But no matter what the causes are, you should know what to do after getting injured on a cruise ship.
Read on to learn the five steps to take after a cruise ship accident.
1. Seek Prompt Medical Attention
When you sustain an injury following a cruise ship accident, you need to seek immediate medical attention from the ship’s medical facility. Failure to get your injuries treated as quickly as possible can be a ground for denying your claim for compensation.
With that in mind, it’s vital to seek aid from a medical professional, even if the injury may seem mild. When you get yourself treated, you allow your doctor to support your claim about the cause of your injury. As a result, it’ll increase your chances of winning when you decide to file an injury claim against the at-fault party.
2. Call Your Lawyer
If you’re injured in a cruise ship accident, it’s best to call your lawyer for help as soon as possible. This is especially true if you believe someone else’s negligence has caused the accident and your injury. Also, given the complexity of maritime laws, you need a legal professional on your side to provide valuable legal advice and guide you through the process.
For example, there are statutes of limitations to observe when filing a compensation claim. Unless you’re a legal specialist, you should hire a lawyer from reputable law firms like lipcon.com to navigate these time limits and ensure your claim is filed within the period allowed by law.
3. Report The Accident
It’s also crucial to report the cruise ship accident immediately. If you fail to make a report of what happened, you may be barred from filing a claim to recover compensation for your injury. To properly report the accident, you need to familiarize yourself with the cruise ship’s protocols for handling accidents and injuries.
As such, you may have to inform the ship’s captain or doctor about what happened and your injury to assist you in making an accident report. It would be best to call the proper authorities to ensure the cruise line has reported the incident and an investigation is in order.
4. Collect Evidence
If you decide to file an injury claim after a cruise ship accident, it’s essential to gather evidence to prove negligence to obtain compensation. Thus, you should do your best to document everything that happened during the accident. These details can include the location, time of the incident, conditions of the surroundings, witnesses present, and many more.
Furthermore, it’s best if you take photographs of the accident scene and your injury. If you haven’t taken any photos, you can check if there are security cameras in the area where the incident took place. If there are, make sure to ask for specific footage to support your claim. If you’re treated for your injury in the boat, be sure to request a copy of the medical report. All this documentation can help strengthen your case, thereby improving your odds of getting a positive outcome.
5. Don’t Discuss Your Injury Publicly
If you’re filing an injury claim, it’s essential not to talk about your injury in public, including on social media. Doing so can prevent you from saying something that can compromise your case and decrease your chances of winning it.
If possible, you need to be careful in what you say or do about the accident. If you’re required to talk about what happened, make sure only to state the facts you know. Avoid overplaying or downplaying your injuries just to obtain a favorable result.
Bottom Line
With so many things happening in cruise ships, the potential of sustaining an injury is high. That’s why when this happens, you should be prepared to protect your health and your legal rights.
Therefore, follow these steps in order to act quickly after suffering an injury while on high seas. That way, you can hold the cruise line accountable for the incident while receiving compensation for all your losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and many more.