A cruise passenger recently experienced a medical crisis and was successfully evacuated. However, in the experience of Leesfield & Partners, such evacuations are not always granted. When they are denied, it often results in serious harm to the passenger’s health.
One reason a cruise ship might deny a passenger a medical evacuation is because evacuations often result in a delayed voyage, which impacts their passengers’ traveling plans and their own schedules. Thankfully, the 69-year-old woman at the center of the recent incident was able to seek additional and potentially life-saving medical attention thanks to the evacuation.
The woman was taken by helicopter from her Carnival Cruise Lines ship to the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was accompanied by her spouse and one staffer from the on board medical team, according to reporting from a national news outlet. Once there, local emergency responders transported her to Centro Médico Hospital.
Failure to Evacuate
Evacuating a passenger from a cruise ship during a medical emergency is often a complex process, requiring careful consideration of the patient’s condition, available medical resources, safety concerns and external factors such as weather and geography. However, as seen in numerous cases handled by Leesfield & Partners over the years, many cruise lines lack sufficient medical staff to address serious emergencies and still choose to deny evacuation for passengers in distress.
A family represented by Leesfield & Partners went on a cruise ship to mark a milestone anniversary. What should have been a trip to celebrate a cherished family moment turned into a nightmare when the family’s patriarch suffered a heart attack while the ship was still in port. Cruise officials refused to evacuate him from the vessel and instead left for Puerto Rico.
The family had to watch for 18 hours as their beloved family member suffered for 18 hours and ultimately died. With timely evacuation, covered in the insurance purchased by his wife, the man could have been saved.
Attorneys with the firm secured a multi-million recovery for the family in that case.
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.
Inadequate Medical Staff
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 cases within this practice area.
A crewmember represented by Leesfield & Partners discovered just how inadequate these on board medical staff can be when they sought out the ship’s medical team for symptoms of nausea. Instead of following instructions on a black box label on the medication they gave him which specified the drug was to be administered slowly and deep into the muscle, the medical staff injected it rapidly into the man’s IV drip. He was in immediate, excruciating pain that lasted for hours while panicked staffers searched on the Internet for answers.
When he was evacuated after the 17-hour-long ordeal, doctors at a hospital on shore attempted a procedure to save his arm that ultimately failed. Due to the negligent medical care he received on the cruise ship, this man lost his arm.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured over $3 million in an arbitration award.
Unlike passengers, who have one year from the date of injury to notify a cruise line of their claim, crewmembers have three years from the date of injury to file a claim, per the Jones Act, a federal law protecting crew.
Another Leesfield & Partners case involved a passenger infected with HIV after the ship’s medical staff did not screen the blood they administered to the patient in a transfusion.
The firm secured a multi-million dollar recovery in that case.
A 9-month-old baby with meningitis was mis-diagnosed by cruise medical staff as having a stomach bug. The team did not catch the signs of meningitis or administer an antibiotic to combat the bacterial infection. As a result, the infant underwent multiple amputations.
A multi-million dollar settlement was secured by Leesfield & Partners.
If you or someone you know received improper medical care while on a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 305-854-4900, or 800-836-6400 for a free consultation.