Congress recently introduced legislation that would allow people to collect more compensation when a loved one dies on a cruise passenger ship due to the negligence of the cruise line.
The Cruise Passenger Protection Act would amend the Death on the High Seas Act, which governs deaths in international waters. DOSHA only permits loved ones to collect very limited compensation, usually only burial and funeral expenses, said Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer with Walker & O’Neill, P.A. based in South Miami, Fla., in his Cruise Law News blog. But the Passenger Protection Act would entitle victims’ families to additional compensation, such as grief and bereavement.
The bill also strengthens crime reporting and video surveillance requirements by mandating that vessels have video surveillance equipment in all passenger common areas, as well as other areas where there is no expectation of privacy, and requiring integration of technology that can both capture images and detect when a passenger has fallen overboard.
