The bow of a cruise ship at a Miami terminal, passengers boarding with the city skyline behind

Miami cruise ship injury lawyer

One year, not two. And not in state court.

A cruise injury is not governed by the Florida rules that cover every other claim on this site. It is governed by the ticket — a contract almost nobody reads, which shortens the deadline, dictates the courthouse, and is enforceable.

Free case review Miami (305) 662-4323 Tampa (813) 930-5422

Time to sue: 1 yearSet by the ticket contract, not by Florida law
Notice of claim: 6 monthsMost tickets require written notice first
Where: S.D. Fla.Most major lines name federal court in Miami
Governing law: MaritimeFederal admiralty law, not the Florida statutes

01 The ticket is the law

Cruise injury deadlines and why you sue in Miami federal court

Federal law permits a carrier to limit the time for bringing a personal injury claim, and the major lines use that permission fully. The standard terms require written notice of the claim within six months and suit within one year of the injury — half the time Florida gives for an ordinary negligence claim, and a quarter of what it gave before 2023.

The same contract contains a forum selection clause. For the lines based here — Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC — that forum is the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, sitting in Miami. Filing in state court, or in the passenger’s home state, generally results in dismissal with the clock still running.

These clauses are routinely enforced. By the time most people think about a lawyer, a meaningful part of the window has already gone.

02 What has to be proved

What a cruise ship injury claim has to prove

Maritime law generally requires a passenger to show the carrier had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition — a wet deck, a defective step, a poorly lit stairwell. In that respect it resembles a Florida premises case, but it is decided under federal maritime standards.

The evidence lives with the carrier: the incident report taken by the ship’s medical center, the deck logs, the maintenance records and the onboard video. Preserving it early matters even more than usual, because the ship leaves.

Claims by crew members run on an entirely different set of rules again, including maintenance and cure and the Jones Act.

03 Where these cases come from

Miami-Dade

PortMiami is the busiest cruise port in the world and the Southern District of Florida is where these cases are heard. The firm’s Sunset Drive office is a short drive from the federal courthouse downtown.

The Miami office · Homestead

Hillsborough

Port Tampa Bay sails Carnival and Royal Caribbean itineraries, but the ticket contract usually sends the lawsuit to Miami regardless of where the passenger boarded.

The Tampa office

04 What damages a claim

Assuming the Florida two-year deadline applies. It does not.
Missing the six-month written notice requirement in the ticket.
Filing in state court, or at home, instead of the Southern District of Florida.
Leaving the ship without being seen at the medical center and getting the incident report.

Frequently asked questions about Florida cruise ship accidents

I boarded in Tampa. Do I still sue in Miami?

Usually yes. The forum is set by the ticket contract rather than by the port you sailed from, and the major lines name the Southern District of Florida.

The ticket you accepted at booking is the document that decides it, which is why getting a copy of the terms is one of the first steps in the case.

The ship’s doctor treated me and said it was nothing. Does that hurt me?

Not necessarily, and the medical center record is valuable regardless — it fixes the date, the location and the complaint.

Get a copy before disembarking if you can. Obtaining records from a carrier afterwards is slower, and the one-year clock does not pause while you wait.

05 Related matters

The full list is on the personal injury page.

Tell Jose what happened

A free review of your cruise ship accidents case, with no obligation, and no fee and no costs unless there is a recovery. English or Spanish, whichever you would rather use. You speak with Jose A. Dapena directly at every stage, not with an intake department — and if there is no claim worth bringing, he will tell you that.

Miami (305) 662-4323 Homestead (786) 900-0184 Tampa (813) 930-5422