Cruise ship passengers win right to sue for emotional damages
H.R. 2922 — Hammers' Law · Filed by Don Bacon (R-NE) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill amends federal maritime law to allow passengers injured on cruise ships operating on the high seas to sue for nonpecuniary damages—compensation for loss of care, comfort, and companionship—in addition to economic damages. Currently, cruise ship injury claims are subject to the same damage caps that apply to commercial aviation accidents; this bill extends those same caps to cruise ship voyages, creating parity in the types of damages recoverable.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to extend nonpecuniary damages remedies to cruise ship passengers, aligning maritime injury law with aviation injury law. It is a straightforward expansion of legal remedies, not a deregulation or industry carve-out.
What the text implies
- The bill does not cap nonpecuniary damages for cruise ship injuries—it merely extends the remedy to the same framework that applies to aviation. The actual damage caps live in 46 U.S.C. § 30307(c), which the bill does not restate; the operative effect depends on what that subsection says.
- Cruise lines may face increased litigation and insurance costs as a result of the expanded remedy, which could be passed to consumers through higher ticket prices or reduced service.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
cruise ship passengers (expanded legal remedy); personal injury attorneys (increased litigation opportunity)