Brais Law Settles Passenger Personal Injury Claim against a Miami Based Cruise Line
Brais Law attorneys settled a personal injury against a major Miami based cruise line on behalf of Florida Passenger who slipped and fell on the ship's pool deck. The fall caused a knee injury which required two knee surgeries with the possibility of a future total knee replacement. During the pre-lawsuit settlement negotiation, it was brought out that cause of the accident was a result of the deck being unreasonably slippery.
Brais Law has been retained to represent a crewmember who suffered a serious neck injury aboard the cruise ship NORWEGIAN PRIDE. In a case file in Miami, Florida, Brais Law alleges ship officers ordered plaintiff, a female security guard from Texas, to secure deckchairs on the top deck while the ship was experience gale force winds. The lawsuit alleges the winds were so severe that the crewmember was latterly blown over and landed on her neck. Cruise lines have a duty to not order crew to work in unsafe conditions if the task could have been performed before the weather became too harsh or if the job ordered to perform was not essentially necessary for the ship's operation. 
The Brais Law maritime attorneys have been retained to represent the estate and family of drowned recreational diver Leonardo Rosales. On October 20, 2010, Mr. Rosales went diving for lobster off Ft. Lauderdale with a friend Enrique Pitta. The two men utilized a “Third Lung” manufactured by the Florida based Brownie company to serve as their air delivery system. The third lung delivers air from the surface to the divers below thus eliminating the need of SCUBA tanks. This method of diving is often referred to as hookah diving as the air supply hoses coming out from the compressor resembles a hookah. On behalf of Mr. Rosales’ wife and two children, Brais Law filed a complaint in Broward County, Florida seeking compensation for the tragic drowning. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, that Mr. Pitta breached the duty he owed to Mr. Rosales (his “dive buddy”) by failing to maintain visual contact and aid in a rescue effort once Mr. Rosales started to drown. The parties reached and out of court confidential settlement. 
The maritime lawyers of Brais & Brais filed a lawsuit on behalf of a California passenger who slipped and fell down exterior stairs leading to the pool deck aboard the NCL cruise ship NORWEGIAN STAR. Court papers allege NCL was negligent for not properly drying the stairwell and failing to maintain the non-skid properties of the steps. The accident resulted in an injury to the passenger's back. 
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The maritime attorneys of Brais & Brais brought suit in Federal court against the United States for injuries sustained by an American civilian seaman serving aboard a naval seismographic vessel. The complaint filed in West Palm Beach, Florida alleges the government's negligence and the naval vessel's unseaworthness caused the civilian seaman to fall several feet while changing an overhead light fixture without appropriate equipment. The fall resulted in severe injuries to the Indiana man's coccyx, left leg, ankle and toe necessitating 7 surgeries including a fasciotomy. The seaman was also diagnosed with the neurological disorder Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy which the complaint attributes to the delay by the government's agent in providing appropriate medical care. The lawsuit seeks 5.2 million dollars in damages. 
The Brais Law Firm represents a Connecticut cruise ship passenger who slipped and fell aboard the NORWEGIAN PEARL. Court papers filed in Miami Federal Court allege the passenger was walking under the fixed canopy on the pool (Verandah) deck when she slipped and fell on a slippery patch on the deck. The fall caused a knee injury which required an arthroscopic knee surgery. The complaint alleges Norwegian Cruise Lines was negligent by failing to: (1) properly maintain the flooring with appropriate non-skid properties to prevent the fall, (2) place signs warning passengers of the wet and slippery area, (3) install proper lighting so the wet area would be open and obvious to passengers as well as (4) make the area dry and safe after being on notice of the hazard. 
After having a Federal Court declare Carnival's Panamanian choice of law clause within its crew member employment contract unenforceable, the Brais Law Firm brought an arbitration claim on behalf of an injured Grenada seafarer asserting a United States Jones Act claim for negligence. The arbitration claim alleged the crew member injured his knee when he tripped and fell due to an improperly maintained crew stairway and demanded compensation for pain, suffering as well as lost earnings. Shortly after Carnival provided the crew member all necessary medical treatment in Miami, the parties agreed to a confidential settlement. 
The Brais law firm settled a Jones Act negligence and unseaworthienss lawsuit on behalf of a British crewmember who worked as a dancer aboard the Carnival cruise ship MIRACLE. The complaint filed in Miami, Florida allege Carnival cruises was negligence and the cruise ship unseaworthy when the leg of a prop chair the dancer was ordered to perform on broke causing her to fall during a performance. The fall resulted in the crew member breaking her wrist. Court papers assert the chair was not structurally sufficient to be used as a prop and Carnival did not have an adequate maintenance schedule its prop chairs to discover defects before the chairs fail. The seafarer and Carnival entered into a confidential settlement before trial. 
Brais Law firm represented the family of a Massachusetts man who died of Norovirus aboard the Celebrity cruise ship SOLSTICE. The complaint filed in Miami Federal Court alleged the passenger boarded the SOLSTICE without being warned the ship was experiencing a two week long Norovirus outbreak. The complaint explains on the fifth day of the cruise, the passenger started exhibited symptoms of Norovirus along with several other passengers which overwhelmed the ship's medical staff. Court papers state the man was sent back to his cabin where he later died. An autopsy performed by the Broward County Coroner confirmed the death was caused by Norovirus. The family and cruise line entered into a confidential settlement after the case was filed. 
The Brais law firm attorneys filed a Jones Act personal injury case on behalf of a Guatemalan crewmember. The complaint brought in Miami, Florida alleges crew spilled condiments on the floor between shifts which blended into the coloring of the galley's floor making it not readily apparent. After reporting for duty the next morning the cook slipped and fell on the condiment which caused him to twist his knee and strike his head against a table. This accident resulted in a significant injury to the crewmember's neck and knee. The Complaint alleges the employer was negligent and the ship unseaworthy by allowing crew access the galley after hours and not providing anti-skid matting commonly found in ship galleys and shore-based kitchens around the world. 
After successfully convincing a Miami Federal Court to declare a provision within Carnival Cruise Line's Seafarers Agreement that deprives the right to bring a United States Jones Act negligence claim unenforceable, the Brais Law attorneys filed an arbitration claim against the cruise line on behalf of a Peruvian stateroom attendant. The arbitration claim alleges Carnival was negligent in causing significant injuries to the seafarer's neck and back by requiring her to work excessive hours without providing another crewmember to assist her with heavy lifting assignments. The claim further alleges Carnival failed to tender a qualified surgeon. This resulted in the performance of a substandard surgery which necessitated an additional surgical procedure to the crewmember's spine. The arbitration claim demands 5 Million Dollars in compensation for pain, disfigurement, lost ability to return to work aboard cruise ships and future medical expenses. 
