“Man overboard” is the term given when someone on board a vessel falls or throws themselves overboard the ship. Sometimes a death that occurs onboard a cruise ship can be difficult to determine, but many people do lose their lives from falling overboard every year. Cruise line companies reassure everyone that the height of the railings make it impossible for someone to accidentally fall from the ship, they would have to deliberately throw themselves in order to fall overboard. This may not prove so true for everyone as the Florida Coast Guard explained how people may fail to realize that passengers falling or jumping overboard occur more often than a person may think. FCG approximates four to five people that die from going over overboard off the coast of Florida every year. When this information is understood, it raises an alarm and concern for the passengers.
Due to the size of a cruise ship, falling overboard can be fatal because it could be at times a 100ft drop. Reasons why passengers fall overboard cruise ships was identified by the Florida Coast Guard. The main reasons they give are suicides, lack of barriers, and intoxication, amongst others. The average barrier that cruise ships have is 45 inches, some may have more, but is it sufficient? That is determined by the height of a person. Someone who is taller would be less protected with a 45 inches’ barrier, especially if they are well above 6 ft. tall. The shorter person could be safer because the height proportion is not that much different to the barrier height.
Getting to the bottom of why overboard accidents occur on a cruise ship can be difficult because there are many reasons why they can happen. A legal professional can help decipher all the facts of an overboard accident regardless of how it happened because they have experience in handling cases like these on a day to day basis, specifically the lawyers at Percy Martinez Law Firm.
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Just by looking at the size of a cruise ship a person can imagine how severe an injury can be if someone were the fall overboard a cruise ship. These injuries can even be as severe as causing a loss of life. Some overboard accidents are deemed to be suicides, but some also occur for other reasons unrelated to suicide or alcohol use, which could be negligence and even foul-play. Speaking the right attorney after suffering an injury from a cruise line will help file the claim against the cruise line within the time frame provided by the specific cruise line.
Their expertise and knowledge have solved thousands of aquatic vessel accidents and continue to be one of the top-rated personal injury firms in Miami. Do not wait in making a claim when it involves an accident at sea. The contracts by cruise ships are strict with their statute of limitations.
A personal injury lawyer with over 10 years of experience, Ryan Malnar serves Colorado Springs with honesty & integrity.
