Deaths connected to the water take many forms: a cruise passenger whose medical emergency was mishandled, a child who drowned in a ship's pool, a crash during a shore excursion, a collision between recreational boats, a crew member killed in an equipment failure. Each leaves a family dealing with grief, travel, and often a foreign death certificate, while the people responsible have already called their lawyers.
Unlike most Florida wrongful death cases, a death at sea can fall under federal law, Florida law, or both. The answer often depends on a measurement most families never think about: how far from shore the injury happened.
1. Pin down exactly where it happened
Get the ship's position or the boat's location at the time of the incident. Sources include the incident report, the deck log, GPS or chartplotter data, phone location history, and photos with location data. Whether the incident happened more than 3 nautical miles from the U.S. shore, within state waters, or in a foreign country's waters can determine which law applies.
2. Open an estate and appoint a personal representative
Federal death claims at sea are brought by the personal representative of the person who died. Under Florida's wrongful death statute, the action "shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative" (§ 768.20, Fla. Stat.). Opening an estate takes time, and some deadlines turn on when a representative is appointed. Start early.
“shall be brought by the decedent's personal representative”
§ 768.20
3. Document the family's financial loss
Gather tax returns, pay records, benefits statements, and proof of the support your loved one provided. Include the household services and care they gave, such as childcare, transportation, home maintenance, and help to aging parents. Under federal law, these economic losses are often the core of the recovery, so the paperwork matters.
4. Secure the medical and death records
Request the ship's medical records, any shoreside hospital records, the death certificate, the autopsy report, and repatriation paperwork. When a death occurs abroad, ask early about the autopsy and whether an independent examination is possible. These decisions cannot be undone later.
5. Preserve the vessel's records
Send written preservation demands to the cruise line or boat owner for video, logs, incident reports, witness lists, maintenance records, and communications. Covered cruise ships must keep video surveillance recordings for at least 20 days (46 U.S.C. § 3507(b)). Do not wait for the funeral to send this letter; a lawyer can send it for you.
6. Protect the family from early pressure
Cruise lines and insurers sometimes offer to pay for repatriation or travel. Accept help if you need it, but do not sign releases, settlements, or recorded statements without review.
The rules that matter for a death at sea
The Death on the High Seas Act. When a death is caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas "beyond 3 nautical miles from the shore of the United States," the personal representative may bring a civil action in admiralty for the exclusive benefit of the decedent's spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative (46 U.S.C. § 30302). Recovery is "fair compensation for the pecuniary loss sustained" by those family members (46 U.S.C. § 30303). Nonpecuniary damages, which the statute defines as loss of "care, comfort, and companionship," are made available only for commercial aviation accidents more than 12 nautical miles from shore (46 U.S.C. § 30307). The decedent's own negligence reduces the recovery but does not bar it (46 U.S.C. § 30304). If the injured person filed suit and then died from the injury, the representative may continue that case (46 U.S.C. § 30305).
Closer to shore. The Act does not apply to waters within the territorial limits of a State, and it does not affect a State's law on recovery for death (46 U.S.C. § 30308). When Florida law governs, the deadline for a wrongful death action is generally two years (§ 95.11(5)(e), Fla. Stat.).
Cruise tickets shorten the clock. Tickets typically require written notice, often within six months, and suit within one year. Federal law sets floors of 6 months and one year (46 U.S.C. § 30526(b), formerly § 30508). For a death claim, any contract notice period is paused until the earlier of the appointment of a legal representative or 3 years after the death (46 U.S.C. § 30526(d)). That pause does not extend the one-year suit deadline. Absent a contract term, the general maritime limit is three years (46 U.S.C. § 30106).
“beyond 3 nautical miles from the shore of the United States,”
46 U.S.C. § 30302
Your checklist
- Record exactly where the incident happened and save the location data.
- Begin opening an estate and appointing a personal representative.
- Gather pay, tax, and benefits records and proof of household support.
- Request medical records, the death certificate, the autopsy, and repatriation papers.
- Send preservation demands for video, logs, and incident reports.
- Do not sign releases in exchange for travel or repatriation help.
- Calendar the shortest deadline that could apply and call a lawyer early.
How we handle these cases
We determine which law applies, calendar every deadline that could govern, and help the family through the estate process. We preserve the vessel's records, document the family's losses in detail, and work with qualified physicians and marine professionals to establish what happened. We handle maritime death cases throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.