Maritime law and personal injury law under admiralty maritime law is different than an injury that would occur on land, and the reason for that is that different laws apply.Below I will discuss what maritime law is and how it is applied.
What Maritime Law Is All About
The federal law of general admiralty law applies to any accident that happens on navigable water. What that means is that any body of water where commerce is taking place, including the intra-coastal waterway, lakes, rivers, and the oceans.
Having said that, there are major differences between laws on land and those on water. The statute of limitations is different for those accidents which occur on water under maritime law, which refers to commercial vessels, and private vessels.
The laws change even further for cruise ships. The venue, jurisdiction, and statute of limitations are set forth very specifically in what they call the contract for passage, and that is simply the ticket that you purchase to get on the boat. It’s typically in the back of the booklet and it says limitation of liability and venue and jurisdiction.
Everyone purchasing a cruise ticket needs to read their ticket. If the cruise line says you must sue them in federal court in Miami within a year, that’s what you have to do. a lot of attorneys that don’t practice maritime law fall prey to those limitations and find themselves on the wrong end of a legal malpractice case.
Watch the video below for more details and to learn more about what is maritime law and how personal injury law is different on the water than on land.
West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyer 