Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer - Holland America

Cruise Ships--The H2 of the Sea

Michael Myers — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:08:11 GMT

There's a close relationship between boats and the environment. Marketing materials--particularly for cruise ships--show vessels in pristine blue waters with fish whales and dolphins in close proximity.

The New York Times ran an article this weekend regarding the damage cruise ships do to our oceans and coasts.

Cruise ships emit nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as airplanes. They pollute far more--per passenger, per mile--than airplanes.

According to environmentalists, carbon dioxide emissions are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to eco problems on luxury liners. Most ships run on so-called bunker fuel, the cheapest and dirtiest fuel oil, which not only powers the vessel, but also all the amenities on board: restaurants, swimming pools and nightclubs among them.

The Article indicates one-week voyage on a large ship is estimated to produce 210,000 gallons of sewage, a million gallons of gray water (runoff from sinks, baths, showers, laundry and galleys), 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water, 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge and more than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day. It read: Your Hummer Looks Stupid. The cruise lines need to clean up their acts. If they don't I hope the weight of social pressure makes cruising as unacceptable as rolling in a big black H2 through the middle of Fremont.

On a one to one basis, cruise ships are going to pollute more than jet skis or Zodiacs. But the same concerns apply. We should make sure that we're smart about fuel consumption and waste when we're on the water. Boating safety means more than preventing personal injury or drowning. It also means not injuring the environment.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Holland America's Medical Personnel--Health Care Providers or Investigators?

Michael Myers — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:46:00 GMT

I’ve blogged about Holland America’s responsibility for the health care provided on board its ships. This blog is a little bit different.

I think everyone would agree that curative treatment should be a health care providers’ top priority. But review of the records in numerous Holland America cases suggests that health care providers on board Holland American vessels place equal emphasis on documenting facts that give Holland America a leg up on the passenger should the passenger file a claim.

Holland America providers also appear to be the first-line of the carrier’s risk management program. Not only are medical records peppered with comments designed to assist Holland America in subsequent litigation, but they also include assessments of whether the customer’s pain, disappointment of being injured, etc. will turn into an actual claim or lawsuit. For instance, it’s not uncommon to find in either medical records produced by the ship’s doctor or one of its nurses indicating that the patient has not mentioned “claim” or “suit” yet but that follow up with the passenger might be appropriate.

It seems only fair if Holland America is going to treat its medical personnel as independent contractors and disclaim liability for their negligence that they should in fact be true independent contractors and that medical records developed on board the vessel should not be available to Holland America except through discovery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

American Safari Cruises--Smaller Vessels, Smaller Fleet, Same Issues

Michael Myers — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:58:50 GMT

American Safari Cruises began operations in 1997. At that point it had one (leased) yacht. Over the past ten years American Safari has expanded. It now has four upscale mega-yachts and has expanded operations to Hawaii.

While we have not had a case involving American Safari yet (the vast majority of our clients are injured on Holland America vessels) we suspect the American Safari ticket contains the same onerous six month and one year limitations periods for submitting written claims and filing suit. Further, since American Safari is based in Seattle it's likely that it also has a Seattle choice of venue provision in its ticket/contract.

While American Safari is substantially smaller than Holland America, the size of the fleet (or vessel for that matter) plays litttle role in cruise line litigation--especially litigation involving personal injury or wrongful death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Holland America's One Year "Statute of Limitations" Upheld

Michael Myers — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:58:08 GMT

I've made frequent reference in this blog to Holland America's requirement that injured passengers must (1) make written claims within six months and (2) file suit within one year of their injuries. The one year "statute of limitations" was recently upheld in a Ninth Circuit decision entitled Oltman v. Holland America Line, Inc.

There may be exceptions to the rigid time limitations imposed by Holland America for claims brought on behalf of children or adults requiring guardians, but--like with so many things in life--it's better to be safe than sorry.

The Oltman case also confirmed that all suits for personal injury or wrongful death must be filed in the federal district court for the Western District of Washington (in Seattle). While there is some argument that claims such as loss of consortium may not be subject to requirements imposed by the Holland America ticket, there is no reason to put these claims at jeopardy by filing elsewhere.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers