Are Cruise Ships Strictly Liable for Crimes and Negligence of Cruise Lines?

The same types of injuries that occur on land can occur in a cruise
liner, or on a cruise ship organized shore excursion. This could be
an
amputation,
deglove injury,
drowning at sea, laceration, a heavy hatch slamming you and
causing a
severe brain injury, or mild traumatic
brain injury, coma and
wrongful death. In some instances even rape by a cruise liner
employee or control agent. Crimes such as
rape on the high seas can occur due to a gang rape by drunken
passengers or ships workers' and can lead to a missing at sea
report after a sexual assault to dispose of the murdered corpse.
Some of these crimes can be stealing or even robbery and theft of
expensive heirlooms and personal items. The United States Attorney
General reported that three out of every four crimes on cruise
vessels reported to Miami law enforcement are sexual crimes that
mostly effect women 21 years of age and under. But sometimes
littles boys are forced to give oral sex to cruise ship employees
or even give up anal sex under threat of physical harm or being
thrown overboard.

Is there Strict Liability in Cruise Ship Injury
Cases?

Cruise vessels hired that also depart from U.S. waters are known
as common carriers according to Section 3(6) of the Shipping Act of
1984. 46 U.S.C. ß1702(6). It is commonly accepted that a
common carrier is under a "special duty" beyond reasonable care to
its vessel passengers. This special duty means that a cruise ship
must see to it the the cruise vessel vacationers get to the port of
safety safely. The cruise liners must exercise the highest degree
of care to protect passenger carried for hire against physical
injuries and other types of harm. (See New Jersey Steamboat Co. v. Brockett
(1887) 121 U.S. 637, 645-646; See also Restatement (Second) of
Torts ß314A (1965).

The special relationship between a common carrier of passenger
and its hire comes from the fact that the passengers are entrusting
themselves to the cruise ship company's protection and care. (See
e.g., Holland America Cruises,
Inc. v. Underwood (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1985) 470 So.2d 19, 20
(the Court found that common carriers have a strict duty to protect
passengers from crimes on ships for hire.)) A cruise ship
corporations has a duty of safe transport, including, inter alia, protection of ship
passengers from attacks by crew members such as gang bangs, child
rapes, sexual molestations, battery on shore, and other harms of a
physical nature. (See also M.J. Norris, The Law of Maritime
Personal Injuries, ß3:3, at 62-63; ß3:12, at 78 (4th
ed. 1990).

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in New Jersey Steamboat that a passenger
who had been physically harmed when he was violently removed from a
restricted area of a vessel by a violent ship employee. The Court
let it be known that since there was a contract for safe
transportation, a passenger was entitled to be protected from a
common carrier's servants' improper conduct and/or negligence. The
Court reasoned that a servants' improper conduct must be imputed to
the master, or the carrier, due to the fact that the servants
aboard the ship are hired to perform the contract to transport
safely the passengers. This reasoning comes from the public policy
and other case precedents set forth in railroad cases.

The high Court held that common carriers are under a duty to
"absolutely protect" their cruise ship passengers from their
servant's misconduct, so long as the act is committed in the course
of the servant's employment. The Supreme Court reaffirmed
Brockett in New Orleans & N.E. R.R. Co. v.
Jopes (1891)142 U.S. 18. Another case, Jopes had to do with the train
conductor shooting train passenger. The Court used the reasoning
set forth in Brockett and
expanded on original definition for common carrier liability,
stating common carriers are absolutely bound to ensure that their
own servants do not unlawfully assault or injure their passengers.
Jopes expanded Brockett by eliminating the rule that
an employee is supposed to act within the scope of his or her
employment. That Court held that the common carrier is strictly liable for any act of its
employees against passengers. Just because Jopes had to do with trains and not
ships, this is irrelevant, because both are common carriers for
hire. Other examples of common carriers include
limousines for hire,
limo buses,
railroads, bus companies and
tour buses, taxis,
airlines and even
helicopter accidents caused by air delivery and tourist sight
seeing tours.

In the case of Morton v. De
Oliveira, 984 F.2d 289 (9th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom.,
Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v.
Morton(1993) 510U.S.907, a passenger asserted she had been
raped by a ship's crew member in her cabin, the California Ninth
Circuit reviewed the issue of crew members' sexual and other
assaults on cruise ship passengers using the "reasonable care under
the circumstances" discussed above, and held the ship liable for
the rape.

This is just one of the many reasons it is so important to
retain an experienced
cruise liner accident attorney, or cruise ship rape lawyer.
Ehline Law is a highly reputable Los Angeles cruise ship accident
law firm and can be contacted at
1-888-400-9721.