How is a cruise injury case different from an ordinary Florida injury case?

Last updated October 4, 2026.

The biggest differences are the law, the deadlines and the court. An injury on a cruise ship at sea is generally a maritime case governed by federal admiralty law rather than Florida's ordinary injury rules, even when it is filed in Miami. That can mean a shorter deadline set by the ticket, a fault rule with no 50 percent cutoff, and a federal courtroom.

If you have dealt with an ordinary injury claim before, or a friend or family member has, the cruise rules can look unfamiliar. Here is a side-by-side comparison, with the rule behind each point, as part of our guide to cruise passenger injury claims.

How does a cruise case unfold differently, step by step?

1. Where it happened decides the law. An injury on the ship at sea usually points to maritime law. An injury on land, such as in a terminal or parking garage, can point to Florida law.
2. The ticket sets the clocks. Instead of Florida's 2-year negligence period, the ticket can require written notice within 6 months and suit within 1 year of the injury.
3. Notice goes to the cruise line in writing. An ordinary Florida claim against a private business has no comparable contract notice step.
4. The case is filed where the ticket says. Usually a court in Miami, often the federal court, and an admiralty complaint is labeled "IN ADMIRALTY."
5. Fault is compared under maritime rules. Your share of fault reduces the award, with no 50 percent cutoff.

Why doesn't Florida law simply apply?

Because the injury happened on navigable waters. In Pope & Talbot, Inc. v. Hawn (1953), a carpenter was hurt while working on a ship berthed on navigable waters in Pennsylvania and sued in federal court there. The shipowner argued that Pennsylvania law applied and that, under it, his own negligence barred any recovery. The Supreme Court held that his claim was a maritime tort and that his rights were not determined by Pennsylvania law.

The same principle is why a case about an injury at sea usually follows maritime rules even when it is heard in a Florida courthouse. Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over admiralty and maritime cases under 28 U.S.C. 1333(1), which also preserves other remedies a claimant is entitled to. Florida law can still matter for injuries on land, for example a claim against Miami-Dade County over an injury in a PortMiami garage.

How do the two kinds of case compare?

Why does the deadline difference matter so much?

Someone used to Florida's two-year rule may think there is plenty of time. On a cruise, the ticket can require a lawsuit within one year and written notice within six months, both counted from the date of the injury. Federal law sets those as the shortest periods a ticket may impose (46 U.S.C. 30526(b)). The statute pauses the notice period, not the lawsuit period, for minors, people who are mentally incompetent and wrongful death claims (30526(d)).

Our article why the clock is already running on cruise claims explains both clocks. Our page on how to give a cruise line written notice of your claim covers the notice letter step by step.

How is your own fault treated?

Under Florida's comparative fault statute, a claimant's share of fault reduces the award, and in a negligence action covered by the statute, any party found greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages (Fla. Stat. 768.81(6)). That 50 percent bar does not apply to medical negligence actions under chapter 766.

Admiralty takes a different approach. In Pope & Talbot, the Supreme Court held that in admiralty, contributory negligence may mitigate, but does not bar, recovery for personal injuries. For deaths on the high seas, the Death on the High Seas Act says the same thing in a statute (46 U.S.C. 30304). We explain how this plays out in what if you were partly at fault for your cruise injury.

Which court hears the case?

Many cruise tickets contain a forum-selection clause naming a court in Miami, often the federal court for the Southern District of Florida, and the Supreme Court enforced a cruise ticket's Florida forum clause in Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute (1991). Federal court has its own procedures: the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court's Local Rules and, in the Southern District of Florida, separate Local Admiralty and Maritime Rules. See why your cruise ticket says you have to sue in Miami.

What can the ticket do that a Florida business cannot?

A cruise case starts with a contract you accepted when you booked. The ticket can name the court and shorten the deadlines within the federal minimums. It cannot do everything, though: on voyages between U.S. ports, or between a U.S. port and a foreign port, a ticket clause that limits the cruise line's liability for injury or death caused by its negligence is void (46 U.S.C. 30527(a)). See can a cruise ticket limit how much the cruise line has to pay.

What stays the same?

Some things carry over. You still have to show that the cruise line was careless and that its carelessness caused your injury, and your medical records, photographs and witnesses matter just as much. In maritime law, the cruise line owes the duty of exercising reasonable care toward those lawfully aboard who are not crew, as the Eleventh Circuit restated in Holland v. Carnival Corp. (2022). In many fall cases, that includes showing the cruise line knew or should have known about the hazard. Our page on slip and fall injuries on board explains how that is proven.

What changes the answer?

Whether you were on the ship or on land

The maritime rules described here follow injuries on navigable waters. A fall in a port building or garage can be a different case under Florida law, and if the property belongs to a county, Florida's rules for claims against government bodies apply: written notice to the agency within 3 years, suit within 4 years, and limits of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident on what the government pays without further action by the Legislature (Fla. Stat. 768.28(5), (6) and (14)).

Whether the ticket shortens the time

Without a shorter period in the ticket, a maritime personal injury action has 3 years unless another law provides otherwise (46 U.S.C. 30106). Cruise tickets often shorten it, to as little as the 1 year federal law allows. Read yours.

Whether the claim is about medical care

In Florida, a medical malpractice action generally has 2 years from the incident or its discovery, with an outer limit of 4 years, and the 50 percent bar does not apply to medical negligence actions under chapter 766 (Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(c) and 768.81(6)). Care by the ship's doctor or nurse is a maritime question instead; see medical negligence at sea.

Whether someone died on the high seas

When a death is caused by a wrongful act or neglect on the high seas beyond 3 nautical miles from the U.S. shore, the Death on the High Seas Act lets the personal representative bring an action in admiralty for the spouse, parent, child or dependent relative (46 U.S.C. 30302). That is a federal claim with its own rules, not a Florida wrongful death case.

What does this look like in a real situation?

For example, imagine two neighbors in Orlando who were hurt the same month. One slipped in a grocery store; the other slipped on a wet deck on a cruise from Port Canaveral. Both were wearing flip-flops, and in each case a judge or jury might find them partly at fault.

The grocery store case follows Florida law: 2 years to sue for negligence, and if the shopper were found more than 50 percent at fault, no recovery at all. The cruise case follows maritime law and the ticket: perhaps 6 months for written notice and 1 year to sue, filed in the court the ticket names, often in Miami. If the cruise passenger were found 60 percent at fault, her award would be reduced by that share rather than barred. Same month, same kind of fall, two very different sets of rules.

This example is hypothetical. It is not a past case or a result, and every claim turns on its own facts.

What mistakes do people make?

• Relying on Florida's 2-year deadline. The cruise ticket's notice and lawsuit deadlines are usually much shorter.
• Filing in the local county court. The ticket's forum clause usually decides the court.
• Assuming a high share of fault ends the claim. In admiralty, a passenger's own negligence reduces the award but does not bar it.
• Treating a terminal injury like an onboard injury. Land-side injuries can involve Florida law, and county property brings its own notice rules.
• Thinking a Florida settlement form or release is routine. Read any release or credit offer carefully first; see whether to sign a release or accept a future cruise credit.

What should you do this week?

1. Check whether any deadline you have been given is based on Florida's ordinary rules or on your cruise ticket.
2. Find the ticket's notice deadline and lawsuit deadline, counted from the injury date.
3. Confirm which court the ticket names.
4. Write down exactly where the injury happened: on the ship, at sea or in port, or on land at the terminal.
5. Keep your ticket, itinerary, medical records and photos together, ready to share.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Florida injury lawyer handle a cruise case?

Whoever handles it has to bring the case in the court the ticket names and under the rules that apply. A cruise case calls for familiarity with maritime law, the ticket's deadlines and, often, the federal court in Miami.

Does Florida's comparative fault law ever apply to a cruise injury?

For an injury on the ship at sea, the maritime rule from Pope & Talbot usually applies instead. Florida's statute can matter for injuries on land, such as at a port facility.

Is there a jury in a cruise case?

It depends on how the case is filed. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not create a right to a jury trial on a claim designated as admiralty under Rule 9(h) (Rule 38(e)).

Do I get 3 years because federal law says so?

Only if your ticket does not shorten the period. Federal law sets 3 years for maritime personal injury actions unless otherwise provided, and it lets a cruise ticket shorten that to as little as 1 year from the injury.

What if I was hurt at the port, not on the ship?

Then the rules can change, and claims against the county that runs PortMiami follow Florida's statute on claims against government bodies.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines and rights depend on your ticket and the facts of your case. Contact a lawyer about your specific situation.