Congress·In Committee·S. 1423
Hammers' Law
Cruise Ship Accident Lawsuits: Hammers' Law
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Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Senate
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.
Milestones
2 milestones2 actions
Apr 10, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Apr 10, 2025
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Hammers' Law
Bill NumberS 1423
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(3)D: 1R: 2
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.