In the post-COVID-19 era, the cruise line industry continues to defend against passenger lawsuits, the most common being slip-and-fall cases, but the litigation costs don’t appear to be making a dent in industry profits, according to those familiar with such cases.
Miami maritime attorney Brett Alan Rivkind noted in a Lawyers Monthly article earlier this year that slip-and-fall hazards are the most common cause of cruise ship litigation.
“For example, on the pool deck, there is water and spillage of suntan lotions, drinks and many other substances,” Rivkind wrote.
But even so, the cruise lines’ cost to defend against such lawsuits are not very impactful and won’t raise the cost of a cruise line ticket, according to attorney Ira Leesfield, who specializes in representing passengers in these types of cases.
Other types of accidents on cruise ships, such as a failure or delay to evacuate a passenger who has suffered from cardiac arrest or a baby in need of specialized care, can be much more serious and lead to much higher damages awards, according to Leesfield.
“Slip-and-falls are generally not the problem for the cruise industry,” he told The Florida Record. “... (Passengers) are also injured during cruise excursions … when they take them on parasailing trips or jet-ski trips or certain rides aboard the ship.”
Between 2000 and 2019, 623 cruise ship passengers or cruise ship crew members worldwide died as a result of incidents either when the ship was docked or at sea, according to California-based Penney & Associates. The top three causes of death during that time period were cardiac incidents (97), accidental falls overboard (72) and jumps overboard (60), the law firm reported.
“The total number of passengers and crew fatalities pales in comparison to the number of people who board a cruise ship each year,” Penney & Associates said in its report.
Just prior to the coronavirus pandemic, cruise lines in North America had about 15 million customers per year boarding their ships, That level of cruise passengers produces profits that tower above litigation costs, according to Leesfield, who noted that cruise lines at the Port of Miami have recently added eight new cruise ships.
“The cruise industry in Florida is the most protected and regulated of all the businesses you have covered, much more than anybody else,” he said.
Leesfield pointed to a number of ways passengers are limited in their ability to file lawsuits against the cruise ship industry. These include treaties and statutes, such as the Death on the High Seas Act that can limit damages awards to only pecuniary losses, such as medical bills and allowed wages, he said. Non-pecuniary losses such as pain and suffering and mental distress are thus often excluded.
In addition, passengers have a statute of limitations of one year to file such a lawsuit, compared to at least two years for injury lawsuits filed against other industries, according to Leesfield. And such cases have to be brought in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, where many of the cruise lines are based, he said. The companies also have in-house counsel or access to outside attorneys when they deal with such cases, potentially making them more expensive for all concerned, according to Leesfield.
The Norwegian Cruise Lines’ 2022 company report seems to support Leesfield’s argument that costs associated with civil litigation are not substantially harming the industry’s bottom line. Most of Norwegian’s claims and lawsuits have been covered by insurance, with maximum liability amounts limited to the company’s deductible, according to the report.
“Based on our current knowledge, we do not believe that the aggregate amount or range of reasonably possible losses with respect to these (litigation) matters will be material to our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows,” the report states.
A spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Cruise Lines International Association was unable to provide The Record with any data on industry legal costs, saying it was outside the purview of the association.
Leesfield said there is more the industry could do to improve safety aboard their ships and provide more experienced medical care to passengers. Such ships are not akin to Disneyland, but often the companies attempt to turn the ships into theme parks, he said.
“I see no modern recognition of an opportunity to improve their claims handling,” Leesfield said.