What Cruise Ship Employees Need to Know About Their Rights

Working on a cruise ship is no easy task. You have long hours and work for days on end. Sometimes dangerous conditions exist on cruise ships, putting you and your fellow crewmembers at risk of serious injuries. Due to the living and working environments on these vessels, there are often instances of physical violence and sexual assault among the crew.

There are a wide range of additional perils that cruise ship workers face, including:

• Slip and fall accidents
• Explosions
• Galley fires
• Falls overboard
• Contagious diseases
  

If you are an injured cruise ship employee, then the chances are you are considered a seaman under the Jones Act and therefore provided with legal protection. Under the Jones Act, which is a federal law, to be classified as a seaman, you have to be assigned to a vessel to navigation and have a substantial connection with the ship. The majority of cruise ship workers fit this criterion.

When you are injured while working aboard a cruise ship, you need to become familiar with your rights under the law. As a Jones Act seaman, you are eligible for maintenance and cure payments that are designed to compensate you for your living expenses and medical costs during your recovery. In cases involving negligence, you may be able to recover compensation that includes lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses and more. If there was some type of danger onboard the ship that caused your cruise ship injury, you may be able to pursue a claim of unseaworthiness.

For more information regarding your rights following an injury on a cruise ship, contact an experienced cruise ship attorney at the Law Offices of Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C. at 877.724.7800.

Be sure to order your copy of Maritime Attorney Brian Beckcom’s book, Insider's Guide to Winning Your Maritime Injury Case. This book provides answers to some of the most common questions asked by injured maritime workers.