Orlando Cruise Ships and Yachts Sexual Abuse

A sexual assault at sea leaves you feeling cut off from everything familiar. You are miles from home, surrounded by strangers, and dealing with a company that already has its procedures in place. You deserve to know your rights, and you deserve to understand how these cases work, because the process is very different from incidents that occur on land.

Cases on the water fall under a set of federal rules known as Maritime Law. Cruise lines are massive corporations, and their passenger tickets are written by legal teams to shield the company. 

Those documents act as contracts and frequently contain strict filing deadlines, limits on where you can bring your case, and other terms that shape the entire process. These details matter, and they can impact your ability to move forward if they’re not addressed early.

At Horowitz Law, our Orlando cruise ships and yachts sexual abuse attorneys represent survivors of sexual abuse, including those harmed on cruise ships and yachts. We understand the maritime rules, the corporate structures behind these vessels, and the steps needed to hold these companies responsible for their failures. If you have questions or need clarity about what to do next, we can guide you.

For a confidential case review, call (954) 641-2100.

A Law Firm Focused on Institutional Accountability

Our Singular Focus on Survivors

For more than 25 years, Horowitz Law has concentrated on one area of law: seeking justice for survivors of sexual abuse in civil court. We do not handle other personal injury claims. This dedication means our knowledge and resources are honed for the specific purpose of holding individuals and the institutions that enable them accountable.

Meet Adam Horowitz: A Recognized Advocate

Adam Horowitz founded our firm to give a voice to survivors. His peers have recognized his dedication and skill; the Daily Business Review named him "South Florida’s Most Effective Lawyer," and he holds an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards.

A Record of Meaningful Results

Our firm has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements for civil sexual abuse in the country, including a record-setting jury verdict over $70 million for a woman assaulted by a co-worker on a luxury yacht. 

Our Commitment to You

• A Safe and Confidential First Call: Your first conversation with us is private, pressure-free, and centered entirely on your needs. You decide how much you want to share. Our role is to listen, answer your questions, and help you understand your options without judgment and without any expectation that you must move forward.
• Clear Guidance Every Step of the Way: These cases involve sensitive details and complex rules. We explain each step in plain language so you always know what is happening and why. You will never be left guessing about the status of your case or what comes next.
• You Pay Nothing Unless We Succeed: We work on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not pay any attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. There are no upfront costs, no hourly charges, and no financial risk to getting legal help.

What Does a Civil Claim Aim to Achieve?

No amount of money can erase trauma. A civil lawsuit, however, is a tool to secure accountability and provide the financial resources needed for your recovery. In these cases, compensation, or "damages," is typically separated into two categories.

Economic Damages: Covering Tangible Costs

This is straightforward compensation for the direct financial losses you suffered because of the assault. It is calculated to cover expenses like:

• Medical bills for emergency care and ongoing treatment.
• Therapy, counseling, and other mental health support.
• Lost wages from time away from work.
• Future loss of earning capacity if the trauma affects your long-term career path.

Non-Economic Damages: Acknowledging the Invisible Harm

This compensation addresses the deep, non-financial impact of the assault. It is intended to acknowledge the immense personal suffering you have endured, which may include:

• Physical pain.
• Emotional distress and mental anguish.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can involve flashbacks, severe anxiety, and nightmares.
• Loss of enjoyment of life.

When Are Punitive Damages Awarded?

In some circumstances, a court awards punitive damages. The purpose is not to compensate you for a loss but to punish the defendant, for example, for extreme or reckless conduct. This award is meant to deter them and other companies from allowing similar harm to happen in the future. 

Why Are Cases on the Water So Different?

The Law of the Sea: What is General Maritime Law?

General Maritime Law is a body of federal law that governs most incidents on navigable waters. This means Florida state law might not apply to your case. Instead, a federal judge will use legal principles developed just for maritime issues.

These principles come with different standards of proof and procedures. A core principle is that a vessel owner owes every passenger a duty of reasonable care, which includes security against physical harm.

What Is Hiding in Your Cruise Ticket Contract?

That lengthy document you agreed to when booking your ticket is a binding legal contract. Buried in the fine print, you will almost certainly find two clauses designed to make a claim more difficult:

• A Shorter Time Limit: Your ticket can reduce the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim to just one year from the date of the incident. It may also require you to provide written notice of your intent to file a claim in as little as six months.
• A Forum-Selection Clause: This clause dictates where you must file a lawsuit. Even if your cruise left from Port Canaveral, your ticket for lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian will likely force you to file your lawsuit in federal court in Miami, where they are headquartered.

Criminal Charges vs. Your Civil Claim: Two Paths to Justice

After an assault at sea, there are two separate legal systems that may become involved, and they have very different goals. 

The Criminal Case: Pursued by the Government

A criminal case is brought by the government to punish the person who committed the assault. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has jurisdiction to investigate serious crimes, like sexual assault, that occur on the high seas involving U.S. nationals. If the government prosecutes, its goals are:

• To Punish Wrongdoing: The aim is a conviction, which can result in penalties like imprisonment for the offender.
• To Uphold Public Law: The prosecutor represents the public, not the individual survivor.

You’d be a witness in a criminal case, but you do not control it. The decision to press charges rests with the government prosecutors.

The Civil Claim: Pursued by You

A civil claim is a lawsuit you file to hold the responsible parties accountable for the harm they caused you. In a cruise ship case, this usually includes both the assailant and the company that owns the vessel. The goals here are different:

• To Obtain Compensation: The objective is to secure financial damages for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
• To Impose Accountability: A civil lawsuit can expose a company’s failures, like inadequate security or negligent hiring, and force them to change their practices.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

The person who committed the assault is not the only party who may be held legally responsible. The owner and operator of the cruise ship or yacht have a legal duty to provide a reasonably safe environment. We can help pursue claims against them for negligence when they fail to meet this duty.

The Company’s Direct Responsibility

This includes:

• Negligent Hiring and Retention: Employing a crew member with a known history of misconduct or failing to perform a reasonable background check.
• Failure to Train: Not properly training the crew in sexual assault prevention, intervention, and response protocols, as required by laws like the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act.
• Vicarious Liability: Under maritime law, an employer is sometimes held responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee. In some passenger assault cases, a cruise operator is held strictly liable for an employee’s actions.

Failures in Onboard Security

A company is also liable if poor security contributed to the assault. Examples include:

• Poor lighting in hallways, lounges, or on decks.
• Lack of visible, properly monitored security cameras.
• Failing to have a sufficient number of security personnel on patrol.
• Over-serving alcohol to a passenger or crew member who then commits an assault.

The Onboard Investigation: A Race Against Time

On land, a crime scene is secured by independent police. At sea, the cruise line controls the environment, the evidence, and the witnesses. This creates immediate challenges for holding them accountable.

Ship security personnel are employees of the cruise line. Their investigation, while necessary, is conducted by people whose employer has a financial stake in the outcome. Evidence can be mishandled, misplaced, or simply disappear. Witnesses, including both passengers and crew, can be difficult to locate once the ship docks and everyone scatters. Crew members, in particular, may be citizens of other countries and quickly moved to other ships, making them hard to find later.

This is why the steps you take once you are home are so important. The information you preserve can help counter the company’s version of events.

Understand Who Is on Your Side

After you report an assault, a representative from the cruise line, its insurer, or its legal team will almost certainly contact you. They may sound concerned, but their job is to protect the company’s financial interests. They are trained to minimize the company's liability.

Here’s What to Expect:

• Requests for a Recorded Statement: They will ask you to provide a recorded account of what happened. You have no obligation to do this. Giving a statement without legal counsel can damage your claim.
• Early Settlement Offers: Some companies make a quick offer, perhaps a free future cruise or a small amount of money. These offers are made before the long-term costs of your trauma are known and are designed to get you to sign away your rights for a fraction of your case’s potential worth.
• Efforts to Shift Blame: As they conduct their own investigation, they will be looking for any detail they can use to argue you were somehow at fault for what happened.

The best approach is to politely decline to speak with them and refer them to your attorney. Your lawyer will manage all communications to protect your rights.

Answering Your Questions About Cruise Ship Claims

You Don't Have to Face This Alone

Taking on a large cruise company or yacht operator may seem far beyond what you have the energy for right now, and it’s natural to wonder whether anyone will believe you or whether the process will make things harder.

You don’t have to carry those questions by yourself. The law gives you a way to pursue accountability, and our role is to walk you through that process step by step. We take on the legal work, the paperwork, and the conversations with the company so you can focus on your own healing.

When you feel ready to talk, our Orlando sexual abuse lawyers will be here to listen. Your story will be heard in a safe, private, and fully confidential setting. Call Horowitz Law for a free, confidential consultation at (954) 641-2100.