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If you have been injured on an excursion, you may be seeking to cast a wide legal net to maximize your financial compensation. A Hawaii tour boat accident attorney at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC can fight for you to get every dollar you deserve.
Whether you were on a cruise or enjoying yourself on vacation, you may have turned to a booking agent for the excursion that may have ultimately injured you or a loved one. Of course, you can always sue the tour operator for your injuries, and you can recover compensation if they were negligent. It is a more difficult case to sue either the cruise ship company or a third-party booking agent for injuries that were caused by a tour operator. Nevertheless, it may not be impossible.
Speak to a Hawaii tour boat accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC by calling us at (310) 773-5207 to learn whether you may be eligible for financial compensation. We can pursue all responsible parties on your behalf.
Middlemen Play a Prominent Role in the Tour Excursions Industry
Tourists often turn to third-party booking platforms, such as Viator, to reserve their excursions when they travel to destinations like Hawaii. If you have been injured on one of these excursions, you are often looking for the party that has the “deepest pockets” against whom you can file a lawsuit. Although this is often a platform like Viator, they cannot be sued under most circumstances. However, on rare occasions, you may be able to include companies like Viator in your lawsuit if they were negligent.
Viator functions as a middleman between you and the tour operator. They provide the platform that links you and the operator, and you make a reservation through their website. When it comes to the excursion itself, there is no legal relationship between you and Viator because the tour operator functions as an independent contractor. Under most circumstances, your excursion-related injury would be the subject of a lawsuit that you filed directly against the operator.
You May Be Able to Sue Viator Under Certain Limited Circumstances
However, like most instances that involve independent contractors, there may be certain limited circumstances under which you can sue the company that acts as a middleman. The most common factual pattern under which you may be able to sue Viator is when they fail to properly vet a tour operator who has a checkered safety record. Before including a company on their platform, Viator must perform their own due diligence. In a similar regard, Viator also has an obligation to stop carrying listings for operators that it knows to be unsafe. If they fail to do so, you can file a lawsuit under a theory similar to negligent hiring and retention.
As the middleman and listing agent, Viator may also have a legal obligation to inform you of whether there are any known safety issues with the operators using the platform. They certainly cannot make any affirmative misrepresentations about the safety record of the operator. Typically, Viator does not say anything about its tour operators, although it does carry reviews from other tourists who have used their services.
Viator may also cross a line when they take an active role in the booking process. The company attempts to shield itself from liability by claiming that it is a passive intermediary. If Viator performs any services that require it to act in a role similar to that of an agent for the company, you may also be able to sue them for your excursion-related injuries.
Usually, tour booking middlemen will attempt to make you sign a waiver that holds them blameless for any injuries that you may suffer on a tour. However, these waivers can only go so far when a company has completely failed to exercise any type of necessary oversight or due care. While it may be a challenge to get around a signed waiver, it is possible to do so under certain circumstances, especially those involving gross negligence.
Depending on the type of excursion that was involved, there may be a wide body of law that applies to your case. For example, if your Hawaiian Excursion was something on the water, you may also rely on maritime law principles for your case. An experienced Hawaii personal injury lawyer can review your case and help determine who you may be able to sue and what law may govern your lawsuit.
Contact a Hawaii Tour Boat Accidents Law Firm
You can’t take control of a potentially confusing and difficult legal situation when you speak to a Hawaii tour boat accidents lawyer at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC. Make an appointment to speak to one of our attorneys by filling out an online contact form or by calling us today at (310) 773-5207.
Preston Easley is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He served five years of active duty as a Naval officer — three years as a deck officer on a fast frigate and two years as a patrol boat skipper. Mr. Easley also served aboard a tank landing ship in the reserves. Learn more here.
