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Cruise Ship Accident Lawyers in Hollywood, Florida

If you were hurt on a cruise that left from Port Everglades or on a shore excursion booked through the cruise line, your claim does not work like a normal Florida injury case. Cruise tickets contain their own rules about where you can sue, how long you have to file, and who you have to notify first. If you live in Hollywood or were on a ship that sailed out of Fort Lauderdale, we can look at your ticket contract and tell you plainly what it requires and what your options are.

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Cruise Ship Accident in Hollywood

Hollywood sits a short drive north of Port Everglades, one of the busiest cruise ports in the world. Many Hollywood residents book cruises that leave from there, and many cruise passengers stay in Hollywood hotels along the Broadwalk or near Young Circle before and after their sailing. That closeness matters. A passenger who slips on a wet pool deck, gets hurt during a tender boat transfer, or is injured on a shore excursion may live just minutes from Port Everglades but still find that the cruise line wants the case handled somewhere else entirely, and often under rules that favor the cruise line.

Cruise passenger tickets almost always include a forum selection clause. This is a paragraph, usually in small print, that names the specific court where any lawsuit must be filed, regardless of where the passenger lives or where the ship docks. For most major cruise lines operating out of South Florida, that means federal court in Miami. It does not matter that you booked your trip from a Hollywood travel agent or that the injury happened on a stop in the Bahamas. The ticket contract controls.

On top of the venue rule, cruise contracts typically require written notice of a claim within a matter of months, not years, and set a filing deadline well shorter than Florida’s general injury statute of limitations. Missing either step can end a claim before it starts. Because these deadlines and notice requirements vary by cruise line and by the specific language in the ticket you were issued, we do not guess at them here. A call lets us pull the actual contract terms that apply to your situation and explain what they mean for your timeline.

What we look at in these claims

The ticket contract terms

Every cruise ticket is a contract. We read the forum selection clause, the notice requirement, and the filing deadline stated in your specific ticket, since these details differ between cruise lines and even between ticket versions from the same line.

Where the injury happened

Whether the incident occurred on the ship itself, on a tender boat, at a private cruise line island, or during a shore excursion changes who may be a responsible party and which rules apply to notice and filing.

What caused the fall or injury

Wet decks, broken stairs, malfunctioning pool lifts, poor lighting in hallways, unsecured equipment, and excursion vehicle or equipment problems are common threads we look for in cruise injury reports and incident logs.

Medical documentation from the ship and after return

Cruise ships have onboard medical staff who create records at the time of the incident. We compare those records to the treatment you received once you were back in South Florida to build an accurate picture of the injury and its course.

What We Look At in These Claims

  • What the ticket contract requires
    The specific notice period, filing deadline, and required court named in your cruise line's passenger contract shape everything else about the claim.
  • Where the injury happened
    An injury on the ship itself, during a shore excursion run by a third party, or at a port facility can each involve a different responsible party and different rules.
  • What caused it
    A wet or poorly maintained deck, a broken handrail, inadequate security, or crew negligence each point toward different evidence and different arguments.
  • Notice given to the cruise line
    Many contracts require the cruise line to be notified of an incident or injury within a set window, separate from the deadline to file suit — missing that step can affect the claim.

What a Claim May Cover

A cruise ship injury claim may address the medical care tied to the incident, both the onboard treatment and follow-up care you needed once you returned to Hollywood or wherever you live. It may also address time missed from work during recovery, out-of-pocket costs connected to the injury, and the physical pain and disruption the incident caused to your trip and your life afterward. Every claim is different, and what a specific case may cover depends on the facts, the injury, and the terms of the cruise ticket itself. We do not promise a result before we know those facts.

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FAQ

I live in Hollywood but the cruise left from Port Everglades. Does that change where I have to file a claim?

Usually no. Most cruise ticket contracts name a specific court, often federal court in Miami, regardless of where you live or where the ship departed. Your Hollywood address does not change what the ticket contract requires. We can check your specific ticket to confirm.

It depends on how the excursion was sold and operated. Some excursions are run directly by the cruise line, while others are run by independent local operators the cruise line merely sold tickets for. This distinction affects who may be responsible and is one of the first things we review.

Cruise ticket contracts typically require written notice within a set number of months and set their own filing deadline, which is often shorter than Florida's general injury deadlines. The exact period depends on the cruise line and the ticket you were issued, so we review the actual contract rather than assume a number.

Start by gathering what you have: any onboard incident report, photos, the names of witnesses, and records of medical treatment you received on the ship or after you got home. Then call us so we can pull your ticket contract and explain the notice and filing rules that apply.

Not for purposes of the ticket contract's rules. The forum selection clause, notice requirement, and filing deadline come from the cruise line's own ticket terms, not from how or where you booked the trip.

Other Injury Claims We Handle in Hollywood

Cruise ship injuries are only part of what we see from Hollywood clients. We also handle personal injury claims arising closer to home, including car accidents along Hollywood Boulevard and the Federal Highway corridor, slip and fall incidents at local businesses, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents near Young Circle and the Broadwalk, bicycle accidents, rideshare accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers, and bus accidents. If your situation does not involve a cruise at all, we can still talk through what happened and explain your options.

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Free case review

Cruise injury cases move on a different clock and in a different court system than typical Florida car crash or slip and fall claims. That difference is exactly why it helps to have someone read your ticket contract early, before a notice deadline passes without you realizing it applied to you.

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Free Case Review

We offer a free case review for people in Hollywood and throughout South Florida who were hurt on a cruise ship, at a port, or during a shore excursion. There is no cost to talk with us, and under our contingency fee arrangement, there is no fee unless we recover for you. Call to have your ticket contract and your situation reviewed in plain terms.

Helping Those Injured in Accidents Across Florida

Our firm is based in Hollywood and works with injured people throughout South Florida, including Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and the communities along the Port Everglades corridor. We handle plaintiff-side injury claims only, which means we work for people who were hurt, not for cruise lines or insurance companies. That focus shapes how we review each cruise ticket and each incident report we’re given.

  • Lakeland
  • North Miami
  • Plantation
  • Hollywood
  • Sunny Isles
  • Hallandale
  • Pembroke Pines
  • Hollywood
  • Dania Beach
  • Miami Beach
  • Miami Lakes
  • Opa Locka
  • Miami
  • Hialeah
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Miami Gardens

If you are still within the notice window on your cruise ticket, time matters more than usual. Florida law and individual cruise contracts each set their own deadlines, and the shorter of the two applies. Rather than guess which one governs your claim, call and let us check the actual language in your ticket.