What Should I Do After a Ferry Accident?

You slip on a wet deck.  You trip boarding the ferry.  The ferry lurches unexpectedly and you are thrown to the floor.  You stumble and fall over an unmarked or uneven part of the ferry's deck.  You may think it is “just a fall.”  It is not.  Within hours, the ferry company and its insurer may already be documenting the incident, interviewing crew and protecting their position.  You need to protect yours.

Get Medical Attention Immediately

Don't assume a slip or fall injury is minor.  Serious injuries from falls surface hours or days later whether it's spinal injuries, internal bleeding or head trauma.  Go to the emergency room.  Tell them you fell on a ferry.  Get examined.  Get tests if recommended.  Get a written medical record documenting your injuries and the date of injury.

This medical record is critical.  It proves when your injury occurred.  Marine insurance companies will argue if you didn't seek immediate medical attention, the injury wasn't caused by the fall!  Don't give them that argument.

Report the Accident

Ask the ferry crew for an incident report.  Get the ferry company's contact information. Follow up to confirm the accident was documented.  A documented report creates an official record of the accident.

Get Witness Information Immediately

Who saw you fall?  Other passengers standing nearby?  Crew members?  Get their names, phone numbers or email addresses.  For example, if another passenger saw you slip on the wet deck, get their contact information.  If a crew member was present, document their name and title.

Witnesses scatter.  If you wait weeks, they may no longer be reachable.  Get information now.

Document Everything With Photos and Video

Take photos: where you fell (the deck, the step, the area), the condition of the deck or stairs (wet? slippery? broken?), railings or handholds, your visible injuries, weather conditions if relevant.  Video often captures details photos miss.  If you're injured badly enough that you can't do this yourself, ask a family member or friend to document everything quickly.

Preserve Your Medical Records and Bills

Keep every medical record, bill, test result, imaging and provider note.  If the fall injury requires ongoing treatment whether that's physical therapy, follow-up visits or imaging, keep all those records.  These documents prove the extent of your injury and the cost of your care.

Write Down What You Remember

While the accident is fresh, write down everything: where exactly you were on the ferry, what you were doing, what caused the fall (wet deck? loose step? ferry movement?), how you landed, what you felt, who was nearby, what crew members did or said, how your injury developed over the next hours.

Written notes made close to the accident are powerful evidence.

Do NOT Give a Recorded Statement to the Ferry Company's Insurance

The ferry company's insurance adjuster will contact you.  They'll sound friendly.  They'll say they just want to understand what happened.  Don't give them a recorded statement without talking to a ferry accident lawyer first.

Tell the adjuster: "I'm consulting with a maritime injury lawyer and they should direct all future communications to my attorney."  Then stop talking.

Don't Accept a Quick Settlement Offer

The ferry company's insurance might offer you quick money, maybe a few thousand dollars to settle.  Don't take it.  Not until a ferry passenger injury lawyer tells you what your claim is actually worth.  Quick offers are almost always below value.  You'll still be injured.  You'll still have medical bills and lost wages. 

Understand Your Ferry Ticket Fine Print — It Could Shorten Your Deadline Dramatically

This is critical.  That ferry ticket you bought?  Read the back.  Check online terms and conditions.  The fine print might dramatically shorten your deadline for filing a lawsuit.

Some ferry tickets shorten your statute of limitations from three years to one year and some shorten it to 90 days.  There may also be a requirement to give notice of the accident within a very short period.  Some require you to file suit in a specific location or through arbitration instead of court.  Some contain liability caps limiting what the ferry company owes you.

A ferry injury lawyer or boat accident lawyer needs to review your ticket immediately. The fine print might change everything.

Understand Where You Must File Suit

Ferry tickets often dictate where you can sue.  Your ticket might require you to file suit in a specific state or even a specific county which is not necessarily where you live.  Some tickets require federal maritime court.  Some require arbitration.  Some tickets contain "forum selection" clauses that strip you of the right to sue in your home state.

This matters because filing suit in the wrong venue wastes time and money.  A maritime injury lawyer knows these ticket requirements and can navigate them.

Can I Sue a Ferry Company for a Slip and Fall?

Yes, if the ferry company failed to use reasonable care under the circumstances and that failure caused your injury.  Wet decks, poor warnings, unsafe boarding areas, sudden vessel movements, loose equipment, inadequate handrails and poorly marked thresholds can all support a ferry passenger injury claim depending on the facts.

Call a Ferry Injury Lawyer or Ferry Accident Lawyer

Don't handle this yourself.  Call a ferry injury lawyer who is an injury lawyer specializing in and with experience in maritime injury law, who understands ferry accidents (slip/fall and otherwise) and knows how to fight marine insurance companies.

The difference between handling this yourself and having a boat accident lawyer or ferry passenger injury lawyer in your corner could be tens of thousands of dollars.  You do not have to hire a maritime lawyer immediately, but you should understand your rights and deadlines before making decisions that could affect your claim.  But you should talk to someone who knows maritime law within days so you can understand your maritime legal rights.

Why Timeline and Ticket Terms Matter

Many maritime injury claims have a three-year filing deadline, but ferry tickets and federal maritime procedures may shorten the time available to act.  But your ferry ticket might have shortened that to one year or 90 days.  That's a dramatic difference. And if your ticket dictates where suit must be filed, filing in the wrong place could void your claim entirely.  You need to know your deadlines and your filing requirements.  A ferry passenger injury lawyer can tell you exactly what your ticket says and what time you actually have.

What You Should Understand

You fell on a ferry through no fault of your own.  The ferry company had a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions and warn you of hazards.  If they breached that duty and you got hurt, you likely have a right to compensation.  Your job is to preserve evidence and document your injury.  A ferry accident lawyer's job is to understand your ticket terms, know your deadlines, and fight for your rights.

Don't let the ferry company's friendliness fool you.  They have teams of lawyers and insurance adjusters working against your claim from day one.  You need someone in your corner who knows maritime injury law and can stand up to them.

Fulweiler llc

East Coast Maritime Injury Lawyers

1-800-383-MAYDAY (6293)