Experience You Can
Depend On

What can I do if I’m injured on a ferry trip?

On Behalf of | May 8, 2020 | Maritime Accidents

Ferries are a common form of transport. They can be used for recreational purposes or sometimes as part of a person’s daily commute. Millions of people use ferries across the country each year. In 2014, 103 million people used ferries as a form of transport.

With such a high number of yearly passengers, injuries on ferries are undoubtedly going to occur at one point or another. If you have been injured on a ferry, likely, you suffered considerably, and you may have been subject to financial costs such as medical bills as a result. If this is the case, you will likely be wondering what you can do to gain back damages for your injury.

Maritime law applies

The most important thing to note before making a claim for personal injury on a boat ride is that maritime law applies. Simply put, the laws that apply to injuries that occur on land do not necessarily apply to those at sea. However, you should be able to sue to boat owner or operator if you can show that their negligence caused their injury.

How can I show negligence?

Operators of ferries have the responsibility to keep their passengers reasonably safe. This means that if they fail in this duty, they will have been acting negligently. For example, if there were insufficient life preservers on board and a boat capsized, any injury that occurred due to this would have been because of the boat operator’s negligence.

If you were injured on a ferry boat and you are concerned about how maritime law will affect your ability to gain back damages, it’s important to take swift action to understand how the law applies to your situation.