Hammers' Law

Key Points

• This bill, known as Hammers' Law, would change federal rules to allow families to sue for emotional damages if a loved one is harmed on a cruise ship. Currently, families are often limited in what they can recover after an accident in international waters.
• Under the new rules, families could seek compensation for the loss of a loved one's care, comfort, and companionship. This is a major change because current laws often only focus on financial losses like lost wages or medical bills.
• The law would apply to any cruise ship that carries at least 250 passengers, has sleeping rooms, and starts or ends its trip at a U.S. port. It does not apply to government-owned ships or small boats.
• This change aims to treat cruise ship accidents more like airplane crashes. Right now, families of airline victims have more rights to sue for emotional loss than families of cruise ship victims.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.