An 8-year-old was, thankfully, evacuated from a cruise ship in a medical emergency this week after ship doctors determined he was suffering from appendicitis.
For many others who are suffering from medical emergencies such as strokes or heart attacks, a much-needed evacuation is not always on the docket. In many cases handled by Leesfield & Partners in its 48 decades of personal injury practice, many of these passengers are deterred from evacuation or denied altogether, resulting in further injury or death in entirely treatable situations.
What Happened?
The incident with the 8-year-old happened Tuesday, Sept. 24 on a two-week cruise from Vancouver, Canada, to Hawaii. The child, who was vacationing with his family, began to feel sick on day two of the trip, according to reporting from Good Morning America. Doctors aboard the ship were able to identify that the child was suffering from appendicitis and needed surgery immediately. In news coverage, the boy’s mother recalled to reporters that the ship’s medical staff had called the situation “very [much an] emergency.”
Weather conditions on the evacuation day meant the cruise ship had to call in for help from the U.S. Coast Guard. Pilots told reporters that, with the fog, the “giant” cruise ship was not visible from 10 miles out at 300 to 400 feet, and it should have been.
“We were like, ‘That’s unusual,’” one pilot said. “As we got closer and closer, we were out about 5 miles and we’re like, ‘Well, we still can’t see it.'”
When the helicopter finally reached the ship, the boy and his family were taken to a hospital in Eureka, California. Once there, he went into surgery to have his appendix removed and is now recovering.
Evacuation Insurance
Earlier this year, Leesfield & Partners’ Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog discussed the importance of evacuation insurance after a woman went viral online following her sister’s bad fall on a cruise ship that led to a severe ankle fracture and dislocation of the joint. The two were on a P&O ship, a British cruise line, traveling to New South Wales when one sister fell on the ship’s dance floor. Had it not been for the travel insurance they allege they purchased for $60 a piece, then the woman’s sister would be on the hook for at least $8,000 in medical and evacuation bills.
“Don’t play Russian roulette with your health and safety, get insurance,” one sister wrote in a now-viral social media post to warn other passengers. “We don’t leave home without it.”
By purchasing this insurance, you are safeguarding your money in case of a medical emergency while on vacation, covering costs associated with helicopter evacuation or getting home if you had to be evacuated to a foreign country while at sea.
Medical Malpractice Cases Handled by Leesfield & Partners
Even with medical insurance, however, cruise lines have refused to evacuate passengers in the past. This much was true for a family represented by Leesfield & Partners. The family was vacationing on a cruise to celebrate a milestone anniversary when the group’s patriarch suffered a heart attack in port. The ship refused to evacuate him from the ship and instead left to sail to Puerto Rico.
The man and his family were left to suffer for 18 hours before he died. With timely evacuation, covered in the insurance package purchased by the man’s wife, the man could have been saved.
Attorneys with the firm secured a multi-million recovery for the family in that case.
Leesfield & Partners has represented injured clients and grieving loved ones in cases of cruise ship negligence and medical malpractice for decades, earning the firm a reputation for taking on the most complex and diverse number of cases within this practice area of personal injury law.
In another case handled by the firm in which a cruise line failed to evacuate a passenger in the middle of a medical crisis, a $4,000,000 recovery was secured.
Other failed or delayed medical evacuation cases that have resulted in further injury to passengers handled by the firm have resulted in over $7.9 million in recovery for injured clients and their families.
One case in which a woman suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke was evacuated from her cruise ship to seek medical treatment ended tragically after the cruise line failed to check if the airport was open before transporting the woman. She died while waiting to be transferred because the cruise line failed to ensure the airport was open before she arrived.
Leesfield & Partners also represented a Canadian couple traveling throughout North America as missionaries. The couple was sailing from Los Angeles to the Mexican Pacific Coast when the husband experienced a medical emergency and required a life-saving blood transfusion and needed to be evacuated. The cruise line was ill-equipped to treat the husband with an improper medical facility. The couple was allowed to board a dinghy to shore and was taken to a third-world infirmary. Once there, the man needed frozen plasma but had to wait for it to be thawed with a hand-held fan. The man died before it could be thawed.
Attorneys with the firm secured a multi-million dollar settlement for the man’s family.
If you or a person you know was injured on a cruise ship, or a loved one died while on a cruise ship, don’t wait. Contact one of our experienced Cruise Ship personal injury attorneys at 800-836-6400 for a free consultation.