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flowrider injuries - tell all

Madkitty

By Madkitty,
in Royal Caribbean International

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G'ma

G'ma

Posted
Posted
US law prohibits the effectiveness of such waivers for injuries caused by cruise line/ship negligence for cruises that begin, end or port in the US. But of course if there was no negligence the cruise line would not be liable anyway.
.

 

In cases like this, U.S. laws do not apply. These are foreign-flagged vessels and operate under the laws of whichever country has flagged them.

 

Except for very general things such as cleanliness, food storage, sanitation, etc. that apply to all passenger-carrying vessels who sail from U.S. ports, other laws normally don't apply.

 

Now, if you read the terms and conditions/passenger contract for any major cruise line, you'd see that they only way you can sue them is if you can prove negligence....on their part....

 

If a person signs a waiver that has outlined potential hazards and real hazards of this ride, then the company is covered.

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Esmerelda

Esmerelda

Posted
Posted

My hubby has been on the Flowrider on the LOS twice..no injuries..he just turned 49. I enjoyed it this past August, no injury...right behind my hubby in age (I even had knee surgery September of last year). We are not in tip top shape but well enough to have had a great time.

 

The best memory I have was a gentleman that was there with us this past cruise. He was 74 and he was on the flowrider every day. His daughter and I chatted one day. She said the rest of the family could not keep up with him! LoL..

 

no worries on the flowrider...

:)

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smeyer418

smeyer418

Posted
Posted
.

 

In cases like this' date=' U.S. laws do not apply. These are foreign-flagged vessels and operate under the laws of whichever country has flagged them.

 

Except for very general things such as cleanliness, food storage, sanitation, etc. that apply to all passenger-carrying vessels who sail from U.S. ports, other laws normally don't apply.

 

Now, if you read the terms and conditions/passenger contract for any major cruise line, you'd see that they only way you can sue them is if you can prove negligence....on their part....

 

If a person signs a waiver that has outlined potential hazards and real hazards of this ride, then the company is covered.[/quote']

 

please you really don't know what you are talking about US law applies to what a cruise line can and can't do when the ship as I said starts/ends or ports in the US. The law makes it against public policy for a cruise line/ship to disclaim liability for a physical injury caused by the cruise lines negligence and this would include signing a waiver. the law has been tested many times and its been upheld. You still would have to prove negligence(in design or in operation). Also FYI the US ADA law also applies to cruise ships in the same way. Who says so? the US Supreme Court in the Spector Case so please stick to what you know. As I said you still have to prove negligence in the design or operation- which is what I said in the first posting but the waiver is useless.

 

here is the cite to the Spector case

 

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=000&invol=03-1388

 

which I am almost sure you will misread.

 

here is the actual section of the law

 

TITLE 46 - SHIPPING

Subtitle III - Maritime Liability

CHAPTER 305 - EXONERATION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

 

-HEAD-

Sec. 30509. Provisions limiting liability for personal injury or

death

 

-STATUTE-

(a) Prohibition. -

(1) In general. - The owner, master, manager, or agent of a

vessel transporting passengers between ports in the United

States, or between a port in the United States and a port in a

foreign country, may not include in a regulation or contract a

provision limiting -

(A) the liability of the owner, master, or agent for personal

injury or death caused by the negligence or fault of the owner

or the owner's employees or agents; or

(B) the right of a claimant for personal injury or death to a

trial by court of competent jurisdiction.

 

 

 

BTW different rules apply to employees of the cruise line

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RadioRay

RadioRay

Posted
Posted
I have had a toenail and a fingernail partially torn off.

 

Seems like this is a frequent injury. From how yours happened, would it hurt or help to have all nails trimmed close before riding? If a long nail gets suck in the soft bottom of the ride, maybe it would be safer to trim close. Or does this happen some other way?

 

Thanks

 

Ray

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driftingaway2017

driftingaway2017

Posted
Posted

:)

Seems like this is a frequent injury. From how yours happened, would it hurt or help to have all nails trimmed close before riding? If a long nail gets suck in the soft bottom of the ride, maybe it would be safer to trim close. Or does this happen some other way?

 

Thanks

 

Ray

 

I lost part of my pinkie nail a couple of years ago at a land based flowrider, in spite of having my nails trimmed pretty close.

I had specifically trimmed nails really close to prevent nail from being ripped off, as this had happened in past. Despite this, I lost part of my pinkie nail. It happened so fast, but somehow my entire pinkie got caught in the grate. Part of my pinkie nail and the skin around nail were torn off. :(.

I would definitely trim nails close. For the most part, it does help. The last time that I went on LOS, I had both my toe and finger nails trimmed really close, and I did not lose any nails that time :).

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Aquahound

Aquahound

Posted
Posted
.

In cases like this' date=' U.S. laws do not apply. These are foreign-flagged vessels and operate under the laws of whichever country has flagged them.

[/quote']

 

Giving Misinformation Again.

 

Civil suits against the cruise line are litigated in Miami, FL (USA), not the flag of the individual ships, and that is spelled out in the contract that you so often talk about.

 

smeyer418 is 100% correct in his post.

 

I'm not sure there is any negligence on behalf of RCI in the use of the Flowrider. They do a pretty good job of warning you of the potential dangers of using it, mostly from falling. But if negligence was shown, the signing of a liability waiver woudn't hold as a defense for the cruise line.

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smeyer418

smeyer418

Posted
Posted
...

 

Civil suits against the cruise line are litigated in Miami, FL (USA), not the flag of the individual ships, and that is spelled out in the contract that you so often talk about.

 

smeyer418 is 100% correct in his post...

 

 

Thanks but you too aren't totally accurate. While most cruise lines have chosen DADE county as their choice of forum provision, some have chosen other places. Princess has chosen LA County in California. Personally I think these choice of forum places are terrible for defendants. Neither Miami nor LA are exactly defendant friendly. LA county for one is one of those where the juries are known as high fliers when it comes to numbers. Where would I chose? Orange County CA for one and Phoenix for another if I was a defendant. If I were a plaintiff, I would want anyplace in Alabama or the Bronx.

 

Miami does have more experience with Maritime matters than any place else.

 

But thanks anyway. I know I was harsh in my comments but this is not the first time that G'ma has spouted wrong info....

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Aquahound

Aquahound

Posted
Posted
While most cruise lines have chosen DADE county as their choice of forum provision, some have chosen other places.

 

Miami does have more experience with Maritime matters than any place else.

 

But thanks anyway. I know I was harsh in my comments but this is not the first time that G'ma has spouted wrong info....

 

I agree.

 

I know I said "cruise line," but I was really only referrring to Royal Caribbean, who uses Miami. Sorry.

 

Do they use Dade County, or are the claims litigated in the federal realm; in the Southern District of Florida?

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smeyer418

smeyer418

Posted
Posted
I agree.

 

I know I said "cruise line," but I was really only referrring to Royal Caribbean, who uses Miami. Sorry.

 

Do they use Dade County, or are the claims litigated in the federal realm; in the Southern District of Florida?

Their contract says courts of competent jurisdiction in Dade county. Federal courts may or may not have jurisdiction if the plaintiff is a Florida resident. Jurisdiction in Federal Court is either based on a Federal statute(the law I cited doesn't give jurisdiction but general maritime law will but some cases are not Maritime based even when they happen on a ship) or diversity of citizenship- so a Florida resident Suing a Florida based Corporation may not have a Federal basis for jurisdiction(no diversity since they are "citizens" of the same state) but they can sue in State Court there.

 

Most of the time the cruise line will remove the case started in State court to the Federal ones. Its an easy procedure but the case can be tried in State court as well.

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klg94msn

klg94msn

Posted
Posted
well, I'll throw my comments into the mix I guess. My stepson was in San Diego 2 months ago. Went to a local flow rider pool for a work activity. Boogie board came out from under him and he landed on his neck/head and broke his neck. C2. Very close to being paralzyed. The pool bottom wasn't cement, but a spongy bottom. Spent the last 2 months in a C collar but the neck didn't heal. Just had surgery one week ago. Had a cadaver bone inserted between vertibre and metal plate and 4 screws inserted. He's over 6 ft tall and is 36. Soooo, with that being said, crazy accidents can happen obviously. Use at own risk.

 

 

Yikes. Hope he does ok.

Same type of thing happened in our neck of the woods to a sledder.

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MAZANDSTEVE

MAZANDSTEVE

Posted
Posted

I saw quite a few people end up in plaster on our cruise more and more as the days went on. It wasnt the FR, The Brilliance didnt have one, it was people slipping on the uneven surfaces and slippy cobble stones around Rome etc, I dont know how I didnt break my leg, I almost went half a dozen times. Its the chance you take as with the FR. People know the risks.:)

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smeyer418

smeyer418

Posted
Posted

you know not to get too far off topic but I always wondered whether the disclaimer about shore excursions will hold as well-if the agent is negligent. I am not talking about when someone slips on uneven sidewalk but where the bus driver of the shore excursion falls asleep and drives off the highway. The law says that the cruise lines can't disclaim actions of its agents. Whether someone is an agent is a question of fact although what the parties call themselves will be looked at its not controlling. Whether someone is an agent or independent contractor depends on how much control the cruise lines exercise over the entity or person. So if the cruise line hires the person keeps a fair amount of the money tells them how to do their work minimum standards etc at some point this crosses from IC to Agent. I am aware that the courts in Florida have held that the doctor on board is an IC but this represents the tradition of the skill and training of the doctor to which the cruise line has little control over but the normal shore excursion is clearly different and whether someone is an agent or an IC is normally fact based a question to be left up to the trier of fact(the jury or judge as the case may be). I am sure there are cases on this and I wonder how the Florida courts have decided....

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BoozeCruise2

BoozeCruise2

Posted
Posted

I've been on it both on the Freedom and Liberty and loved it. However like previously mentioned I got sucked up to the divider and my knee was stuck in a really awkward position. I really thought with the power of the jets I was going to have my knee-legg broken. Thankfully just a deep bruise.

 

Ill be back on it though in 3 months !!! Gotta live while your alive.

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emdia43

emdia43

Posted
Posted
US law prohibits the effectiveness of such waivers for injuries caused by cruise line/ship negligence for cruises that begin, end or port in the US. But of course if there was no negligence the cruise line would not be liable anyway.

 

 

Yes, I am sure it wouldn't protect the cruise line from negligence claims- I think it's used so that the passenger can't say he was totally unaware there was any risk involved..:)

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  • 4 months later...
krisko

krisko

Posted
Posted

I kind of wish I didn't open this thread as I'll be on the Flo-rida every chance I get in a few weeks. I will say this, it isn't for everybody. I was 40 when I first got on one and I'm in pretty good shape. It definitely rocked my world a few times but nothing worse than a scraped knee. I was stunned to see some seniors and fatties get up there and for the most part they did pretty well.

 

RCI obviously likes the program since they put it on Oasis. Still I see this as several giant lawsuits waiting to happen!

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