Cruise Ship Rape Attorney
When making vacation plans to take a cruise, the last thing the passenger is concerned with is their personal safety. What they do not realize is that their safety is not as protected as they think.
Passengers who believe they are leaving the crimes of sexual assault and rape behind in the city, and on the shore, are wrong. Ehline Law has helped many rape victims recover big, million-dollar, plus settlements. Put our experience to work for you.
Ehline Law Firm "Makes It Happen" For Abused Passengers.
Michael Ehline, of Ehline Law Firm Personal Injury Attorneys, APLC ("Ehline Law Firm") is a Super Lawyers Rising Star, internationally recognized, and is also an inactive U.S. Marine with millions recovered in verdicts and settlements. Experienced cruise ship rape attorney, Michael Ehline goes after unchaste defendants.
Who Do We Sue To Get You, Justice, in a Cruise Rape?
In fact, these were the people who assaulted you, your spouse, or your child. So the ones we sue are those who instigated attacks. They ultimately deflower and ruin innocent and unwilling victims. So if attacked or raped on a cruise vessel, we have the experience to help, and we want to set things straight for you. Our accident attorneys take on this unjustified application of force from start to finish. We understand that physical invasion is a delicate matter. For this reason, all consultations are strictly confidential and free of charge to you.
What are the Cruise Ship Assault Statistics?
The statistics prove that foreign passenger vessels are not always as safe as other modes of transportation. This is especially true for children and women who are often the targets of sexual predators. And some statistics have been presented that show the frequency of sexual attacks and rapes at sea.
- At any one point, there are approximately two reports of sexual assaults or rapes for every one hundred thousand passengers on the main cruise lines. While this amount of attacks or rapes may not sound frequent, passengers are only aboard ships for a short amount of time, and this is a combined fleet statistic.
- During five years, the major cruise lines have reports of 99 sexual assaults or rapes occur aboard ship.
- During five years there was 173 sexual assaults or rapes occur on a major cruise line, no of which resulted in prosecution or conviction.
These are just some of the statistics, and the industry is getting wiser in covering these crime up and finger-pointing. Be on the lookout for victims being demonized in the press as a future form of defense.
What About The 173 Cruise Sex Assault Reports?
None of the 173 sexual assault or rape reports resulted in any criminal prosecutions. Still, another famous cruise line reported two rapes or sexual assaults per month on all its cruise ships. Another cruise line employs a risk management team dedicated to handling only rape and sexual assault claims.
They have their lawyers, and that is why you will typically need injury lawyers who will give it their all to help you get money damages for your serious personal injury and loss from rape while aboard a cruise liner.
And this includes recovering special damages like medical bills and lost wages, and general damages like past, present and future pain and suffering.
If you were the victim of intentional acts or negligence on a cruise, you deserve to get compensation for your cruise ship injury or boat accident.
Will Rape On a Cruise Ship Change Your Life for the Worse?
Getting sodomized or penetrated against your will causes severe emotional and physical trauma and is a known cause of PRSD. You feel besmirched and dishonored, among other horrible things. And even if you are an injured employee in a seafarers union or cruise liner employee, we may be able to secure you money damages in your cruise ship negligence personal injury case.
But litigating a claim like this requires extensive legal skills. You may need to hire an expert witness to help prove your rape case and the resulting damages and liability. You may have suffered severe trauma and may even need a forensics expert, or security expert. Mostly this is because cruise ship negligence cases are complicated.
- The Law Of Agency
Did you know that under the law of agency, a negligent cruise line may be vicariously liable for evil acts of its cruise ship employees and their agents? They may even be strictly liable.
You may be entitled to recovery of money damages. And your civil case could still be strong if the acts weren't within the scope of the defendant's employment or agency. After all, Ehline can argue "cruise ship strict liability" in these cases.
What Steps Must You Take if Raped on a Dream Vacation?
- When a crime takes place, the crime scene must get sealed off. So all areas where sexual assaults and rapes took place must get sealed off. So no one goes in or out until law enforcement arrives to investigate. Access to this crime scene should be limited to law enforcement;
- Take pictures of the rape scene as soon as possible. Record the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witnesses.
- Each witness should give a recorded statement;
- A doctor must conduct a rape examination before the victim showering or using the bathroom. Also, no brushing teeth, eating or drinking until a saliva swab;
- Draw blood samples immediately, and;
- Pictures should be taken of the victim immediately. These will record the bruises, marks, cuts, or scrapes. Also, pictures will illustrate torn clothing and signs of a struggle.
- People helping the victims should be qualified. For example, photographs of the crew and passengers can identify the attacker. So the attorney must fight to get mugshots.
How Do I Help Preserve My Own Sexual Assault Claims?
Assuming you are the victim of a cruise ship crime, like rape, battery, assault, and so on, make sure to seal off the scene of the crime and allow no one to pass but law enforcement personnel such as the FBI.
- Make sure to take photographs immediately, so much time as you don't trample on the accident or crime scene. Law enforcement will usually wear special clothing, including sterile gloves, boots, and even respirators, to avoid contaminating the crime or accident scene.
- Make sure to get the witness' information, if any, like their phone numbers and where they live. (Physical address).
- Take a recorded statement on your iPhone. (Try your cell phone, most have built-in recording devices).
- Don't eat, wash your mouth out, or wash your body. First, get swabbed and examined by a medical doctor.
- Ask the doctor to take blood samples as well, and get the doctor to write it down in the medical charts.
- Make sure to get photos of the ship's crew.
- Also, snap photographs of passengers involved in the assault.
Also, the cruise corporation will do its best to destroy evidence. So keep that in mind. In other words, call the FBI immediately. In any case, call Ehline Law Firm now. Set up an injury claim today.
What Else Do I?
- Look at your boat cruise passenger ticket.
- Make sure to find the statute of limitations and the venue clause. (See above.)
Most cruise lines require an injured cruise ship passenger to notify the cruise line of any injuries starting six months after the unforeseen and life-altering event.
A befallen passenger's claim can become time-barred. Mail your application certified mail, return receipt requested. Retain copies of the certified letter.
Do not trust the crew or captain! Hence, the victim's friends or family should:
- Contact the FBI by satellite phone. These helpers must get instructions on what they will need to do. Do not wise to rely on the cruise line to do the right thing in this situation. Likely, their defense attorneys are ALREADY radioing in advice to the crew to damage or destroy evidence.
- As soon as possible, contact the Ehline Law Firm quickly to assist grieving and terrified victims.
Our experience includes suing cruise ship lines such as:
- Canaveral.
- Carnival.
- Celebrity.
- Commodore.
- Costa.
- Cunard.
- Disney.
- Norwegian.
- Princess.
- Radisson.
- Renaissance.
- Royal Caribbean.
- Seaborne.
- Silver Sea Cruise Lines.
Why Not Let Our Past Experience Guide Your Case?
Our experience in helping victims gives us the expertise needed to assist other clients. After all, we have a prior understanding of these dangerous situations on cruise lines.
So in some cases, it shows a pattern of disregard by the cruise line for their employees or passengers. More often than not, a history of complaints leads up to the incident.
But our clients will have the safe harbor of our experience working with experts in their fields of rape, sexual assault, forensics, and security. Also, we understand how traumatic and sensitive this situation can be for the client. But an experienced attorney uses the laws in the customer's favor. That way, they can begin the healing process.
The current laws used in building our cases are:
Ehline Law Firm uses a combination of:
- Admiralty
- Maritime
- Jones Act
- California State tort laws, and others.
In California, the current law used to build cases holds the cruise line liable for intentional wrongful acts of its crew members. This applies to whether the act occurred during their hours on duty or not.
So if a minor under the age of 16 has sex with an adult, for example, this is a sexual assault or statutory rape. And that remains true if the minor gave their consent.
- Does a Cruise Ship Owe Any Special Duties to Me?
In exchange for the cost of a ticket, a passenger liner creates a legal, binding contract with the tour boat passengers. But much of the deal is unfair and tilts for the cruise ship company. Ironically, these provisions can severely hinder your rights.
For example, these harsh conditions include the six-month notice provision. Also, they usually entail a one-year complaint filing provision. Last, there will typically be a strict forum selection provision.
Other unfair provisions include that claim for lost or damaged baggage as low as $100 is valid, even if you lost over $100,000 in goods. Other harsh conditions include the right to deviate from a previously set and printed schedule. Some even disclaim liability for on-shore injuries. So caveat emptor.
Call (213) 596-9642 to discuss your case now!