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Defective Equipment in a Cruise Ship: Injuries and Compensation

Cruises are considered one of the popular entertainment and holiday activities places that vacationers experience. Given the variety of activities that passengers perform, there are various technological equipment and devices involved that might be defective causing injury to someone- the crew or passenger. When injuries occur due to defective equipment, building a case can be complicated.

When a person is harmed due to such defective maritime equipment, the victims’ subsequent legal action is called product liability. The victim seeks legal assistance in order to understand how to claim compensation, how much amount is considered fair compensation, and who is responsible for the usage of the faulty product on the cruise. Such cases also involve foreign maritime law if the accident occurred in a foreign land.

What is considered a Defective Product?

A product might already have a defect given its design or batch and later could harm the passengers when they use such products or objects. The defect can also exist in cruise ship equipment which is used to run the whole ship and not the other items that cause damage and physical injury even causing an explosion or even sinking the ship.

Various Injuries from Defects of Products:

Cruise ships have various equipment that runs the ship. Any defect, even a minor one, can lead to a major injury to the crew members. If the injury is not near the product, it is minor, however, if a pressure of some sort ousts a certain tool or a part of it that hits directly to a muscle or skin of a passenger or crew, the injury will be considered as a severe or serious one.

The bigger or sharper the equipment is, the bigger the damage will be. In the case of an item that a passenger uses such as a workout equipment, the defect in that product can bruise or tear the skin or even break the bones.

Defects in Technological Devices:     

Given the technological era, there are a number of technical, electronic, or computing devices or systems in a cruise ship. Defects in these products also harm the passengers and even can disrupt navigation altogether. A cruise ship can also face complications with the technology such as the hacking of the system, or inherent defects in the products.

Such defects usually do not harm anyone until people are exposed to certain areas which carry the risk of electrifying passengers or trapping them in a few areas of the ship; these factors cause bigger damage to others.

Defects in Equipment for Passengers:

Given the various areas of the ship for the passengers, the defective products differ. Particularly that equipment which are used by the passengers can have design or operation flaws that pose danger to passengers at a certain level. Products in the room or kitchen that have the potential of catching fire can burn the passenger.

Initiating a Case of Defective Equipment:

In order to initiate a case against the cruise ship line where the injury or damage occurred, the plaintiff needs the help of an attorney. At this initial stage of the case, the lawyer and his team may need evidence.  Apart from the evidence, necessary information such as the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of the product aboard the ship can take time to initiate the case- most importantly determining who is responsible for the damage from a defective product.

The lawyer helps in tracing the at-fault party, pursuing the claim, and collecting all the evidence against the responsible party. The best advice is to talk to a personal injury attorney and discuss your legal options and how the attorney can help. In Jackson, contact the Diaz Law Firm for expert advice and representation. You can call the office to make an appointment at 601-607-3456.