Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
Despite great reviews calling Joshua Jackson a “miracle worker” for pulling off the antics shown in his new show, Doctor Odyssey, which follows the adventures of a cruise ship doctor, Leesfield & Partners knows the bleak reality and its consequences for passengers.
In nearly five decades of personal injury practice in Miami, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have recovered over $66 million for hundreds of victims of negligence at the hands of cruise ship doctors. Despite these companies marketing their ships as vessels with state-of-the-art infirmaries and staffed with some of the leading medical professionals in the field, this is often not the case. In fact, it has been the experience of this law firm that these ships have hired subpar doctors and nurses who do not meet the standards necessary to practice medicine in the United States.
These companies are able to skirt these regulations because they operate under different regulations while at sea, often traveling between countries and in international waters, paving the way for doctors who are not licensed in the U.S. to be hired for these roles.
Additionally, regulations set forth for medical care on ships by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), can vary from those generally accepted in the U.S.
Doctor Odyssey
The show’s pilot opens with a misdiagnosis, something that Leesfield & Partners attorneys know happens all too often aboard these ships. Though the show’s patient presented with symptoms akin to those displayed when a patient has a bad reaction to an antibiotic, the real cause of the discomfort was revealed to be iodine poisoning, an overexposure to the essential nutrient that can cause adverse health effects.
While actual cruise ship doctors pointed out the improbability of the show’s diagnosis,
Previous Cases
Leesfield & Partners attorneys have been staunch advocates for public safety for over 48 years in all areas, including cruise ship medical malpractice, where the carelessness of these doctors has significantly harmed the firm’s clients. In one case handled by the firm, a ship’s medical team’s failure to screen blood administered during a blood transfusion to a passenger on board resulted in the passenger being administered HIV-positive blood. The error is irreversible and our client will live with the consequences of the disease for the remainder of their life.
A confidential, multi-million settlement was secured by the firm in that case.
A $5,530,000 settlement was secured in a cruise ship amputation case.
Another confidential case against a cruise line for its negligent doctors resulted in a $3 million settlement secured by Leesfield & Partners attorneys.
In the case of a crewmember who reported to the ship’s infirmary complaining of nausea, an over $3 million recovery amount was secured after doctors incorrectly administered the maximum dosage of a medication through his IV that resulted in him losing an arm.
The firm secured $1.5 million for a person having a stroke while on a cruise ship.
A 9-month-old baby aboard a ship was diagnosed with a stomach bug when, in actuality, she was suffering from meningitis. Had doctors correctly addressed the signs of the meningitis and administered the necessary medication, the outcome could have been very different. Instead, the infant had to undergo multi-digital and feet amputation. A life-changing, multi-million dollar settlement was secured by the firm in that case.
Failure to Evacuate
And the catastrophic consequences are not only caused by the actions of onboard medical personnel. Other officials on board — whose interests lie in the company’s bottom line rather than in keeping passengers safe — have caused harm to Leesfield & Partners clients when they have failed to evacuate passengers in the middle of a medical crisis.
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.
A 16-year-old suffering from a stroke was misdiagnosed by cruise ship doctors simply on the premise that these doctors were of the opinion that teenagers “don’t have strokes.” They refused the patient evacuation in that case. This case resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement.
For a family vacationing on a cruise to celebrate a milestone anniversary, the ship’s refusal to evacuate altered their lives forever. What should have been a joyous trip ended in tragedy when the group’s patriarch suffered a heart attack while still in port. He was denied evacuation despite having purchased evacuation insurance, and the ship set sail for Puerto Rico—an 18-hour journey during which he and his family suffered greatly before his death.
Attorneys with the firm secured a multi-million recovery for the family in that case.
For a full list of previous Leesfield & Partners cases, please visit our Verdicts and Settlements section on www.Leesfield.com.
