The news of the Costa Concordia has ripped across the news waves with stories of great tragedy. But new insight is coming to light about the possible legal issues that some of the passengers could be strapped with in the near-term future.

At issue is a contact that’s part of the ticket one uses when a cruise is purchased. The terms of such contracts cannot be negotiated and it’s sure that few passengers pay attention to them beforehand. The contracts say that families with loved ones who died or passengers who were injured have a total of 185 days to submit their claim. If there’s property damage, those losses must be submitted with a claim within 30 days of an incident.

Bereavement compensation is limited at less than $60,000. There are strict limits on how much property damage can be recouped at only $500 per passenger.

In order to make a claim, passengers would have had to had their losses verified by the ship’s staff prior to leaving the ship. However, given the way the cruise ship went down like modern Titanic such a thing didn’t occur.

The cruising contract won’t cover damages for a variety of objects like cameras, laptops, cell phones and even dentures.

Such troubling news comes on the heels of the tragedy that occurred. Details of the full impact of the Costa Concordia when it went down just off the coast of a tiny town in Tuscany - Giglio, Italy.