What to do after an injury on a cruise

Last updated October 5, 2026.

Report the injury before you leave the ship, get medical care, photograph the scene and your injuries, and collect witness names. Then ask the cruise line in writing to keep its video, which federal law only requires it to hold for 20 days (46 U.S.C. 3507(b)(4)), and remember that the ticket's notice and lawsuit deadlines started the day you were hurt.

What you do in the first hours and days after a cruise injury can matter as much as how the injury happened. Cruise cases are won and lost on documentation, and the best evidence is the evidence you gather before you are back on land. Here is a practical checklist.

1. Report it right away

Tell guest services or the ship's medical center as soon as you safely can, and make sure an incident report is created. Ask for a copy. An official, dated report written while events are fresh is one of the strongest pieces of evidence you can have, and its absence is one of the first things a cruise line will point to.

2. Get medical care and keep every record

See the ship's infirmary even if you think the injury is minor, and follow up with your own doctor once you are home. Keep bills, discharge papers, and notes. This record connects the injury to the incident and shows how it affected you over time.

3. Document everything yourself

Photograph the hazard and the exact location from a few angles, including lighting, wet floors, missing signs, or broken equipment. Photograph your injuries as they develop. Write down the names and contact details of any crew members who helped and any passengers who saw what happened. Witnesses scatter the moment the ship docks.

4. Preserve evidence before it disappears

Many ships record over their security footage within a short window. That video can decide a case, but only if someone formally asks the cruise line to preserve it in time. This is one of the most common reasons to contact a lawyer quickly, even before you decide whether to pursue a claim.

5. Be careful what you sign and say

A claims representative may reach out quickly, sometimes before you have left the ship, asking for a recorded statement or offering a fast payment in exchange for a signed release. Be cautious. You are not required to give a recorded statement, and signing a release can end your claim for far less than it is worth. It is reasonable to say you will follow up after speaking with a lawyer.

6. Mind the deadlines

Cruise claims run on short, contract-set clocks, often one year to sue and six months to give notice. We explain those deadlines here. Do not let the calendar decide your case for you.

What happens after you report the injury, step by step?

1. The report on board. Guest services, security or the medical center records the incident. Ask for a copy and note the name of the person who took it.
2. The medical visit. The ship's medical center creates its own record of what it saw and what it did. Ask for a copy of your chart before you leave the ship, or request it in writing later.
3. The video clock. On ships the federal cruise safety law covers, video surveillance must be kept for at least 20 days after it is recorded (46 U.S.C. 3507(b)(4)). After that, the statute's minimum has run unless a listed serious incident was reported, which is why a written request matters.
4. Leaving the ship. Crew and passenger witnesses scatter at disembarkation. See your own doctor once you are home and keep every record.
5. Written notice and a preservation request. The ticket's notice period starts on the day of the injury and can be as short as 6 months (46 U.S.C. 30526(b)(1)). A written request to keep video and records can go out at the same time.
6. The claim or lawsuit. Most evidence that stays with the cruise line is obtained formally later, through requests in the lawsuit, which is why preserving it early matters.

Who holds the evidence, and how long does it last?

The video rules apply to ships with overnight accommodations for 250 or more passengers on voyages that embark or disembark passengers in the United States (46 U.S.C. 3507(k)). Our page on the safety rules federal law imposes on cruise ships covers the rest of that law.

What changes the answer?

The injury came from a crime

For listed crimes, such as an assault causing serious bodily injury or a sexual assault, the cruise line must contact the FBI as soon as possible, and the 4-year preservation rule for relevant video can apply (46 U.S.C. 3507(b)(4), (g)(3)). See who investigates a crime on a cruise ship.

A sexual assault

Federal law adds duties for the ship's medical staff and a right to copies of certain video on written request. Our page on what the ship's medical staff must provide after a sexual assault explains them.

A child was hurt

The same steps apply, with a parent making the reports. The ticket's notice period is paused for a minor, but the lawsuit period is not (46 U.S.C. 30526(d)).

It happened off the ship

On a tour or in a port terminal, ask the operator or terminal staff for a report too, and photograph signs and company names on vehicles and equipment. Our page on who is responsible for a shore excursion injury covers tours.

The cruise line says the video is gone

If electronically stored information that should have been preserved is lost because reasonable steps were not taken, a federal court can order measures to cure the harm, and stronger measures if it finds an intent to deprive the other side of it (FRCP 37(e)). An early written request is what makes that duty hard to dispute.

What does this look like in practice?

For example, picture a hypothetical passenger who trips on a lifted carpet edge outside a dining room on the third night of a seven-night cruise. She reports it at guest services, where an officer writes an incident report but says a copy is not available on board. She photographs the carpet, gets two witnesses' phone numbers and visits the medical center, which wraps her wrist and notes a possible fracture.

The next morning she emails guest services asking the line to keep all video of that hallway from that evening. Home four days later, her own doctor confirms the fracture. In the second week she sends written notice of her claim by certified mail to the address in her ticket, repeating the request to preserve video and asking for her medical chart. Twelve days have passed since the fall, so the 20-day minimum had not yet run. Whatever happens next, she has a dated request, her own photos and witnesses, and notice sent well inside the ticket's deadline.

What mistakes do passengers make after an injury?

• Skipping the medical center. A same-day record links the injury to the incident; a gap of days invites argument.
• Giving a recorded statement on the spot. You are not required to give one, and what you say can be quoted back later.
• Signing for a credit. A form exchanged for a refund or future cruise credit may be a release; read whether to sign a release or accept a future cruise credit.
• Assuming the ship keeps the video. The statute's minimum is 20 days; ask in writing early.
• Throwing away what you wore. Shoes and clothing can answer an argument that the passenger was at fault; see what if you were partly at fault.
• Waiting until treatment ends to act. The notice and lawsuit clocks started the day you were hurt.

What should you do this week?

1. Write a dated account of what happened, while you still remember the details.
2. Back up your photos and save the witnesses' names and contact details.
3. Send a written request to the cruise line to preserve video, reports and records.
4. See your own doctor and ask for copies of every record and bill.
5. Save your ticket contract and count 6 months and 1 year from the injury date.
6. If you were hurt by a crew member's act, read whether the cruise line is responsible for a crew member's careless act.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a copy of the incident report?

Ask for one on board and again in writing. If the cruise line will not provide it, it is usually obtained later through formal requests in the case (FRCP 34).

Can I get the video myself?

Only in one situation: on written request, the cruise line must give you copies of video in which you appear that may show evidence of a sexual assault, for a civil case (46 U.S.C. 3507(b)(3)(B)). Other video is preserved by request and obtained in the lawsuit.

Should I talk to the cruise line's claims representative?

You can be polite and take their contact details. You do not have to give a recorded statement or sign anything, and it is reasonable to say you will follow up after speaking with a lawyer.

What if I was hurt on the last day of the cruise?

Report it before you leave the ship if you can, and photograph the place. If you have already disembarked, send a written report and preservation request to the cruise line right away.

Does reporting the injury on board count as written notice?

Usually not. An incident report is the cruise line's document; written notice is a letter from you that meets the ticket's terms. Our page on how to give a cruise line written notice of your claim explains it.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every situation is different. Contact a lawyer about your specific case.