Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
A cruise passenger in Aruba attempted to board the ship with a firearm and could now faces criminal charges.
The incident happened on Feb. 26 when a Royal Caribbean passenger attempted to board Oasis of the Seas following a stop at the cruise port in Aruba. Security discovered the firearm during a routine security screening conducted when passengers return to the ship.
Local law enforcement took the passenger, whose name has not yet been released by authorities or cruise ship officials, in for questioning.
Additional details, including whether the passenger brought the weapon with him or if he obtained it while in Aruba and whether there will be any charges filed against him, were not immediately available as of Tuesday morning.
Royal Caribbean is among cruise lines that have policies barring passengers from bringing firearms on board, however, international travel makes enforcing that policy difficult given local laws. While the cruise line can prohibit someone from reboarding the ship with a firearm, the challenge is in enforcing the policy across multiple legal systems, especially given how gun laws differ internationally.
Cruise Lines Have a Duty to Protect Passengers
As common carriers, cruise ships have a nondelegable duty to protect passengers and ensure their safety. This means that cruise lines must ensure that their ships are in safe, working order free of potential hazards and that they have security measure son board to prevent any criminal activity.
In decades of representing injured clients aboard cruise ships, Leesfield & Partners has handled numerous cases involving criminal activity on ships. Previously, the firm represented a Canadian tourist who was traveling on a cruise ship and was violently raped by a crew member. The employee used his keycard, which gave him access to her room, to enter and begin his brutal attack.
The firm secured a substantial settlement for the woman in that case,
The firm also handled the case of a cruise ship passenger who was beaten by a violent group.
In an ongoing case, Trial Lawyer Bernardo Pimentel II is representing a client who was unknowingly filmed while in her private cabin bathroom with a hidden camera. The camera was planted by an employee who also planted other hidden cameras in other cabins and privately filmed various passengers without their consent. Those who were filmed included minors.
The employee in that case was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
Following the incident, our client has been left significantly scarred and suffers from emotional turmoil and panic.
In a statement to local media, our client said the harrowing ordeal left her “devastated.”
“Knowing that anybody could have one of those cameras somewhere, it’s very hard just to know the reality of this crime that is out there, this crime of voyeurism,” she said.
In speaking with those same reporters, Mr. Pimentel said that the cruise line must take responsibility to prevent this from happening to passengers in the future.
“If we hold these carriers, these cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, accountable for these kind of situations, they can now proactively seek out this misconduct and these people, these individuals that can commit these kind of actions against their passengers before it even occurs,” he said.
Leesfield & Partners
With 48 years of experience in all areas of personal injury law, Leesfield & Partners has seen just about every incident that can occur on a cruise ship from fatal shore excursions, medical malpractice at the hands of cruise ship doctors, criminal activity and premises liability injuries. In that time, the firm has secured numerous record verdicts and settlements for injured clients and grieving family members. Leesfield & Partners attorneys have consistently delivered exceptional legal representation to clients, tenaciously pursuing the best possible outcome in each case.
In addition to handling crimes aboard ships, the attorneys at Leesfield & Partners have successfully managed numerous complex cases involving life-altering and, at times, fatal incidents.
In a parasailing cruise excursion that injured a daughter and killed her mother, the firm obtained a $7.25 million settlement. The mother and daughter in that case were traveling on a cruise ship where they purchased a parasailing adventure. While they were up in the air, heavy winds caused a rope to snap and sent the two hurtling toward the water below. The mother died as a result and the daughter sustained catastrophic injuries.
The cruise line involved in this case tried to evade liability by stating that the parasailing tour operators were independent contractors. In the end, Leesfield & Partners secured the multi-million-dollar settlement for the family.
When a couple and their special needs son went on a cruise ship shore excursion bus ride, they never imagined the outcome would cost them their child. The poorly maintained bus and its negligent driver caused the bus to careen off a steep cliff and rollover, ejecting the young man from the vehicle. He died from his injuries.
Leesfield & Partners settled the case for $3 million.
The firm previously handled a cruise case in which a minor was injured, causing severe brain damage. The firm obtained a $2.5 million recovery in that case.
In a premises liability case on board a ship, the firm secured a confidential settlement for the family of an 8-year-old girl who wandered off on the ship. When the child leaned over a faulty interior railing, she fell several stories to her death.
In an ongoing case, Partner Justin B. Shapiro is representing a woman who embarked on a cruise’s jet ski tour at CocoCay island in the Bahamas, a small island owned by the cruise line. The jet ski tour was marketed as one for beginners and provided minimal tutorials on how to handle the jet skis. When our novice jet skier was out on the water, a tour guide violently crashed into her jet ski and caused multiple spinal fractures and severe bruising.
If you or a loved one was injured as a passenger on a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 305-854-4900 to see if you might be eligible to make a claim.
