The Port of Miami is the largest cruise line port in the world. Annually, 3.7 million passengers leave our harbor and return home from cruises to the Caribbean and to Central and South America. Vacationers from all over America and from many other countries board cruise ships in Miami, as well as in Ft. Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, and Key West, which are also among the region's most significant cruise line facilities. The history of this industry has proven that catastrophic injuries and deaths have been caused aboard ship by the negligence of the ship's personnel and by unseaworthy conditions. The maritime laws of the United States and of the State of Florida afford victims a means of obtaining compensation for their losses. Cases brought in the courts of Florida by claimants are an important means of holding the cruise lines accountable and serve to correct unsafe practices, which, if left uncorrected, would cause further harm to others. Slippery decks, noxious fumes, spoiled food, misconduct by ship's personnel, and inadequate medical care are just some of the causes of harm to passengers which we see. If you or your family has been the unfortunate victim of harm caused by a cruise line, let us help you through the maze of maritime litigation.

SETTLEMENT: Cruise Line Passenger Slip and Fall. In the McAlonan case, Scott Sheftall secured a confidential settlement of $140,000 from the cruise line defendant after proving that his client from New York had slipped and fell on an unseen slippery condition on a tiled floor in a dining area adjacent to an outer deck. The evidence established that sea spray and humid outside air flowed from the outside solarium into the interior dining room through automated sliding doors and then condensed on the tile floor of the dining area which was chilled by air conditioning. In her fall, the Plaintiff had sustained a significant hip injury.

SETTLEMENT: Cruise Line Passenger Slip and Fall. In the Schoemehl case, a confidential settlement of $75,000 was obtained for a Missouri client who injured her wrist in a slip and fall during a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. Scott Sheftall established that the ship had created a slippery and dangerous condition in a dining area, and that its on-board medical doctor failed to properly diagnose and treat the wrist fracture for the duration of the cruise. The delay in treatment necessitated corrective surgery once the woman was able to return to her home town.

SETTLEMENT: Cruise Line Passenger Slip and Fall. In the Holligan case, a client from New Jersey slipped and fell on ice shavings left on an outside deck of a cruise ship, where the cruise line had staged an ice carving as an entertainment event for the passengers. The ship's personnel invited the woman up from the audience to have her photograph taken next to the finished ice sculpture. She slipped and fell, injuring her hand as she was walking up to the spot from which her photograph was to be taken. Scott Sheftall negotiated a confidential settlement of $70,000 with the defendant cruise line.