Sue Norwegian Cruise Line for Injury
National Cruise Ship Injury Lawyers Representing Victims Across the United States
When a passenger is seriously injured aboard a cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line resulting in surgery, medical bills, and permanent disability, the right question that comes to their mind is, “Can I sue Norwegian Cruise Line?”
In talking with hundreds of injured passengers who have called our Miami law office, many mistakenly believe that they have a little to no recourse because the incident happened in international waters, or in the waters of a foreign country. Some passengers worry that since Norwegian ships fly the Bahamas flag, they have to bring a claim in the Bahamas. Or worse yet, in Norway. But the good news is that if you were injured on a Norwegian Cruise voyage that touched the United States at any point, you can fortunately bring a claim in federal court under general maritime law against NCL for negligence. Cruise lines operating in U.S. waters and ports are bound by maritime law, federal regulations, and their own contractual obligations set forth in their ticket terms. When the duty of reasonable care owed to the passenger is breached by NCL, the injured passenger may have the legal right to pursue compensation. But, just because you have the right to bring a claim it does not mean that these cruise ship injury cases are easy. Federal court is serious business, and the judges are very strict in what claims they will allow to proceed.
Perkins Law Offices, based in Miami, represents cruise ship injury victims nationwide, regardless of where the passenger lives or where the injury occurred. Our firm routinely handles claims arising from cruise departures and returns involving ports throughout the United States, including Florida, California, Texas, New York, Washington, and beyond. This article will help explain how you may sue Norwegian Cruise Line for injury, who may qualify to file a claim, what evidence is needed, and why experienced maritime counsel is critical to the outcome of your case.
National Representation for Norwegian Cruise Line Injury Lawsuits
Perkins Law Offices is based in Miami, FL which is the cruise ship capital of the world where the majority of the major cruise lines are headquartered. This is precisely why Alex Perkins and his law firm are at the forefront of litigation against Norwegian Cruise Line. These federal maritime matters are governed primarily by:
Federal maritime law
International maritime conventions
Passenger ticket contract provisions
U.S. District Court jurisdiction (Southern District of Florida)
The Norwegian Cruise line ticket contract requires any personal injury lawsuits on qualifying cruises to be brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division. This allows our firm to represent injured passengers across all 50 states, right here in Miami, even if the injury occurred outside U.S. waters.
Passengers from California, Texas, Illinois, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Washington, and other states regularly retain our firm to pursue Norwegian Cruise Line injury lawsuits.
Legal Basis to Sue Norwegian Cruise Line for Injury
To successfully sue Norwegian Cruise Line for injury, the claim must establish four legal elements recognized under maritime law:
1. Duty of Reasonable Care
Norwegian Cruise Line owes passengers a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. This duty applies to onboard conditions, crew conduct, medical response, security, maintenance, and safety protocols. However, this duty of care does not mean that the cruise line is automatically liable if an injury occurs on their ship or during one of their cruises. When it comes to dangerous conditions on the ship that cause injury, the plaintiff has the burden to prove Norwegian was “on notice” of the danger and failed to correct it. Under current federal law with regard to dangerous conditions, this means NCL’s duty of reasonable care only arises if the cruise line knew or should’ve known of the dangerous condition.
2. Breach of that Duty
A breach of the duty of reasonable care occurs when Norwegian fails to meet that standard. In practice NCL owes a duty to keep the ship seaworthy, maintain are safe for expected use, to warn of hazards, and to ensure the crew is properly trained. The breach of duty can manifest itself in many ways. There are infinite possibilities of how a passenger may get injured during a cruise voyage, but common ones include:
Unsafe flooring or walkways, including pool decks
- Inadequate lighting
Poorly maintained stairs
Inadequate security leading to assaults and sexual assaults
- Slippery gangways and tenders
Negligent medical care by ship doctors
- Untrained and unsupervised crew
Failure to warn passengers of known dangers
- Falling objects
3. Causation
NCL’s breach of the duty of care must be the direct cause of the passenger’s injury. Medical records, incident reports, surveillance footage, and expert testimony are often used to prove causation. A common defense to causation a pre-existing condition. Norwegian Cruise Line will say that the passenger did not sustain the injury on the ship as claimed, but rather the plaintiff already had the condition. i
4. Damages
Damages may include:
Medical expenses
Lost income
- Out of Pockets
Pain and suffering,
Inconvenience,
Lost capacity for the enjoyment of life
Disability
Emotional distress and mental anguish from the physical injury or incident
Wrongful death damages for surviving families depending if DOHSA applies
Sue Norwegian Cruise Line for injury
Common Norwegian Cruise Line Injury Lawsuits We Handle
Norwegian Cruise Line Slip and Fall Lawsuits
Wet decks, buffet spills, pool areas, and stairwells are common locations for serious falls. Maritime law requires cruise lines to inspect, correct, and warn of known hazards.
Norwegian Cruise Line Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Shipboard doctors and medical staff may commit errors involving misdiagnosis, delayed evacuation, medication mistakes, or improper treatment. Cruise lines can be held liable when medical negligence worsens an injury.
Norwegian Cruise Line Assault and Sexual Assault Lawsuits
Norwegian Cruise Line is strictly liable for the intentional torts of its crew members. If it can be proven that a Norwegian Cruise Line crew member sexually assaulted a passenger, the Cruise line will be held liable. Cruise lines also have a duty to provide reasonable security. Failures involving crew members or inadequate monitoring may expose Norwegian Cruise Line to liability.
Norwegian Cruise Line Shore Excursion Injury Lawsuits
Cruise lines may be liable for injuries occurring during shore excursions they market, sell, or control—even when operated by third-party vendors.
Norwegian Cruise Line Pool, Burn, and Food Poisoning Lawsuits
Chemical burns, defective equipment, scalding water, contaminated food, and norovirus outbreaks frequently form the basis of maritime injury claims.
Where Norwegian Cruise Line Injury Lawsuits Are Filed
Norwegian Cruise Line passenger contracts require lawsuits to be filed in federal court if the cruise touched a U.S. port, specifically Southern District of Florida (Miami). If the Norwegian Cruise did not touch a US port, then the injured passenger is relegated to arbitration. Although this is not ideal because it takes away the jury option, at least if a passengers injured on an international cruise to Europe or Asia that never touched a port, we can still help.
This is why hiring a Norwegian Cruise Line injury attorney with federal maritime experience is critical. Filing in the wrong court or missing deadlines can permanently bar your claim. We have seen injured passengers attempting to negotiate claims by themselves without a lawyer or hiring a local personal injury lawyer in their state who is not familiar with the nuances of federal maritime law, including the statute of limitations and other requirements. This has led to bad outcomes, including missing important deadlines like the one year statute of limitations.
Time Limits to Sue Norwegian Cruise Line
Unlike standard state personal injury cases, cruise ship claims are governed by shortened contractual deadlines, including:
Notice requirements in writing with particulars within 185 days
Lawsuit filing deadlines often limited to one year
Failing to act promptly can eliminate your right to compensation.
Why Perkins Law Offices Is Trusted Nationwide
Perkins Law Offices has extensive experience litigating cruise ship personal injury cases. Essentially in order to be able to negotiate with the cruise lines, the handling lawyer needs to be familiar with how to properly evaluate the claims, including how the cruise line might perceive the claim strengths and weaknesses. The firm has represented hundreds of injured cruise passengers and is well respected by many of the defense adjusters and lawyers for the major cruise lines which gives the firm an advantage over lawyers who do not regularly interact in the maritime law field.
We represent clients nationwide and communicate remotely, eliminating geographic barriers while maintaining aggressive legal representation.
Our firm does not advertise shortcuts or inflated promises. We pursue results grounded in evidence, law, and strategy. We have a track record of happy clients. Our Google reviews speak for themselves and are all five stars. Past clients and co-counsel have shared their experience in working with Alex Perkins and his team. Our ratings on lawyer websites like Martindale-AVVO establish that Alex Perkins and Perkins Law Offices are AV preeminent rated.
Counterarguments Norwegian Cruise Line Often Raises
Cruise lines commonly argue:
The hazard was “open and obvious”
- The passenger was drunk, not paying attention, or wearing dangerous footwear
The passenger assumed the risk
- They had no notice of the dangerous condition and therefore no duty of reasonable care
The injury occurred outside their control
- The injury didn’t happen on the ship because it was not reported
Another party was responsible
- The injury was not caused by the incident
These defenses require experienced maritime attorneys to rebut using expert testimony, maintenance records, and maritime safety standards.
Speak With a National Norwegian Cruise Line Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one were injured aboard a Norwegian cruise ship, legal representation should begin before evidence disappears and deadlines expire.
Perkins Law Offices represents injured cruise passengers nationwide, regardless of state residency.
