Cruise passenger breaks ankle falling down atrium grand staircase.
Luxury Cruise
Hiring a cruise ship accident lawyer was the last thing on Arjun’s mind when he booked his luxury cruise. Arjun was 53 years old when he embarked on a luxury 7 day cruise from Melbourne to Tasmania. He was travelling with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
Cruise ship accident
Arjun was a health fanatic and took the stairs instead of the lift wherever possible.
On the second day of the cruise, Arjun and his wife were having an early morning coffee in a cafe when he returned to his cabin to pick up a book.
Arjun was walking down the grand marble staircase in the atrium of the ship. He stepped off what he thought was the last step, but fell heavily to the floor. He landed awkwardly on his ankle.
Arjun was stunned and looked around to see what had caused his fall. He realised that the pattern of the carpet on the last step of the staircase was different to the earlier steps. Whats more, the pattern was the same as the carpet at ground level. Arjun had therefore believed that he was stepping down onto the floor, when he was actually stepping off the penultimate step.
A crew member at Guest Relations saw the accident and came to Arjun’s assistance. Arjun reported the accident.
Injuries and treatment
Arjun sought treatment from the ship’s medical centre. He was diagnosed with a sprain and his ankle was bandaged. He was given a crutch and pain killers. He was advised to return if his pain worsened.
Remainder of the cruise
The remainder of the cruise was very disappointing for Arjun.
It was painful to walk around, and he felt most comfortable with his ankle elevated. He could not attend the theatre as it was too cramped to keep his ankle raised comfortably. He could not drink alcohol and the special anniversary meal that he had booked at the ship’s fine dining restaurant was wasted.
Whilst Arjun made sure that he accompanied his wife on land in Tasmania, he tended to find a cafe and put his foot up while his wife explored.
After looking forward to the cruise for so long, Arjun was happy to return home.
Injuries worsen
Arjun’s pain did not subside so he saw his GP in Melbourne. He was referred for an X-ray which showed that he had broken his ankle. The GP was concerned about the delay in treatment, and referred Arjun to the emergency department.
Arjun proceeded to receive treatment for his broken ankle. He was put in a moonboot for 6 weeks but the fracture did not heal. He therefore had surgery where metalwork was inserted. Arjun proceeded to have extensive physiotherapy.
As a result of Arjun’s surgery, he required time off work. His injury also prevented him from training for a marathon, and doing the grocery shopping, gardening and home maintenance which he was responsible for before the accident.
Complaint
When Arjun was referred for surgery, he complained to the cruise line about the accident and asked for compensation.
Arjun was offered a replacement cruise. Unsatisfied, he sought legal advice from Victoria Roy.
Passenger contacts cruise ship accident lawyer
Arjun sought legal advice from cruise ship accident lawyer Victoria Roy and instructed her to make a claim on his behalf.
Victoria has vast expertise in cruise ship accident compensation claims. She put the cruise line on notice of Arjun’s claim and requested a copy of the CCTV. This confirmed what Arjun has said. She also obtained a copy of the ship’s accident database, which showed that other passengers had suffered similar falls in the 12 months prior to Arjun’s accident.
Victoria alleged that the cruise line had been negligent, breached their contract with Arjun, and breached the statutory guarantees found in the Australian Consumer Law.
Victoria also obtained Arjun’s medical records and arranged for him to be examined by an orthopaedic surgeon to prepare a report on his injuries. Victoria also obtained witness statements from Arjun’s family and employer to support his claim.
Cruise ship accident lawyer settles claim
When Victoria had all of the necessary evidence, she prepared a Schedule of Damages setting out all of the items that formed Arjun’s claim, such as pain and suffering, loss of earnings and future medical expenses.
After Arjun approved the document, Victoria submitted it to the cruise line and invited them to have a settlement meeting.
Victoria conducted settlement negotiations with the cruise line according to Arjun’s instructions. The claim settled for a six figure sum without Arjun needing to start court proceedings.
Real client names and identifying features cannot be published for confidentiality reasons, both to maintain client confidentiality and in accordance with settlement agreements. The above case study is an amalgamation of our founder and principal solicitor Victoria Roy’s previous successful cases and are typical of the expertise of Victory Travel & Cruise Lawyers.
