Injured on a River Cruise

[ab0si]

Good luck finding a true Maritime Specialist attorney interested in the case. That is not a huge specialty such as other interests in law. I imagine there are not that many excellent, true Maritime Attorneys throughout the country.

 

 

Actually, I doubt that maritime law has anything to do with this. Admiralty law only covers private law in international waters, I think. As I understand it, the injury occurred not only in Russian waters, but inland on a river.

 

So, one can try to sue the U.S. company claiming they are an agent of the Russian firm and so are responsible or claiming the have effective control over the ship and its crew or some such. Or, I suppose, one could sue in Russia.

 

Paul

[owl61]

Actually, I doubt that maritime law has anything to do with this. Admiralty law only covers private law in international waters, I think. As I understand it, the injury occurred not only in Russian waters, but inland on a river.

Paul

 

This comment piqued my curiousity. So after a brief search I found http://www.marlegal.com/mljur.html from which it appears that,

in general, the admiralty/maritime jurisdiction of the United States extends to all waters, with or without tides, salt or fresh, natural or artificial, which are navigable in interstate or foreign water commerce, without regard as to whether the particular body of water is entirely within a state, and whether or not the transaction in question is confined to a single state. Thus, it would appear that if the river in question is utilized for commerce US Admiralty law would apply. Of course, that doesn't end the inquiry.

Whether the responsible parties (ship owner , employer of careless sailor, etc) can be sued in a particular US jurisdiction/court also depends on whether they have minimum contacts with the jurisdiction so as not to offend traditional legal notions of fairness. Did they have an office in a particular US location? Did they engage in marketing in this US location? These are technical questions that a legal specialist would need to explore.

[iheartbda]

Good luck finding a true Maritime Specialist attorney interested in the case. That is not a huge specialty such as other interests in law. I imagine there are not that many excellent, true Maritime Attorneys throughout the country.

 

 

Just happen to know one. Husband of a close friend of my MIL specializes in Admiralty and Maritime Law. He graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy in 1956, Temple School of Law in 1964 and has been practicing in the family law firm in center city Philadelphia.:)

[sail7seas]

Aanyone can sue for anything. That takes no skill.....the skill and specialty comes in winning the case.

 

Draft a complaint, plunk down your filing fee, have the suit served and like magic, you just sued someone.

 

I wish OP the very best and hope a fair settlement can be reached.

Most important that she heal well with no lasting ill effects.

 

[smeyer418]

This comment piqued my curiousity. So after a brief search I found http://www.marlegal.com/mljur.html from which it appears that,

in general, the admiralty/maritime jurisdiction of the United States extends to all waters, with or without tides, salt or fresh, natural or artificial, which are navigable in interstate or foreign water commerce, without regard as to whether the particular body of water is entirely within a state, and whether or not the transaction in question is confined to a single state. Thus, it would appear that if the river in question is utilized for commerce US Admiralty law would apply. Of course, that doesn't end the inquiry.

Whether the responsible parties (ship owner , employer of careless sailor, etc) can be sued in a particular US jurisdiction/court also depends on whether they have minimum contacts with the jurisdiction so as not to offend traditional legal notions of fairness. Did they have an office in a particular US location? Did they engage in marketing in this US location? These are technical questions that a legal specialist would need to explore.

 

State for this purpose means one of the United States or territories. it doesn't mean a cruise wholly within a foreign state unless you are on American Flagged vessel. US Admiralty law doesn't apply to a foreign flagged ship within its own territorial waters.

[Essiesmom]

'foreign water' most like does not mean there is jurisdiction in foreign waters...It is in the same statement with Interstate Commerce, which is between states in the US, or 'foreign waters', which would mean a ship coming into our waters from a foreign location. EM

[owl61]

US Admiralty law doesn't apply to a foreign flagged ship within its own territorial waters.

Would US Admiralty law apply to a foreign vessel operating in foreign waters if the owner were subject to US jurisdiction by virtue of his presence in the US jurisdiction?

[Donray]

Of course, you do have the names and contact information of all the witnesses and the person that did the actually injury? Also, you have statements from all the Russian doctors that will testify to your injuries in the US courts?

How many names do you have that will testify that what you say did indeed happen?

What are your permanent injuries? Unless there is some type of permanent injury and the case is worth about a lot (one million or so) no attorney will take it on contingency. Too much hassle for little return.

[smeyer418]

Would US Admiralty law apply to a foreign vessel operating in foreign waters if the owner were subject to US jurisdiction by virtue of his presence in the US jurisdiction?

 

Can the parent of a sub be made to take responsibility? The general rule is NO. There are some exceptions. These are fact based situations but if it does it means that for purposes of that lawsuit the Parent US corp is responsible. It would probably still mean that the foreign law applies but will be heard in a US forum.

 

Its rare that a US parent owns a foreign river cruise ship through a sub. Most are owned by other foreign companies. As long as the corporate veil remains intact they won't pierce through to the parent.

 

Most river cruises are booked through US travel companies. These companies have generally no responsibility for the river cruise period. Other than the commission they recieve they have no ownership interest either direct or indirect in the river boat.

[JazzyV]

A long overdue update. It took 2 and a half years, but with the help of a determined lawyer (who had documents tranlated into Russian and served the parent company in Russia, to show he really meant to pursue this), they dropped the jurisdiction defense, and there was an arbitration hearing at the end of last year, here in the US. The cruise line attorney tried to argue accident versus negligence. I was awarded a settlement for my permanent injuries as a result of the incident.

[shoshona2]

Dear Jazzy,

 

So happy to hear that you have finally gotten a settlement for your pain and suffering from the incident two and one half years ago. I know it doesn't make up for your permanent injury, but it is justice served. You deserve it!!!

 

Sheila

[Krazy Kruizers]

A long overdue update. It took 2 and a half years, but with the help of a determined lawyer (who had documents tranlated into Russian and served the parent company in Russia, to show he really meant to pursue this), they dropped the jurisdiction defense, and there was an arbitration hearing at the end of last year, here in the US. The cruise line attorney tried to argue accident versus negligence. I was awarded a settlement for my permanent injuries as a result of the incident.

 

 

Thank you for coming back and giving us an update.

Glad you got a settlement -- sorry about your permanent injuries.