cruise ship injuries

Published on: September 30, 2024

Boy, 8, Evacuated from Cruise Ship in Medical Emergency This Week. Many Others Not So Lucky.

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?

Published on: September 5, 2024

Doctor mistakenly removes man’s liver instead of his spleen. Now, his wife is planning to sue.

By Leesfield & Partners

The wife of a man who died during a surgery where his doctor removed his liver instead of his spleen is planning to sue, according to reporting from local news outlets.

The incident began when the man complained of feeling pain in his side while he and his wife visited their Florida rental property from Alabama. At the hospital, the man was allegedly planning to return to Alabama to see his usual doctor but was instead persuaded by a medical team in Florida to go ahead with the surgery, according to the family’s attorneys. Doctors are said to have “persuaded” him by explaining the potential risks that could arise if he delayed surgery.

A surgical pathology report listed the organ that was removed as a “grossly identifiable” liver that was partly torn. When removing the liver, the doctor tore blood vessels that caused “catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the wife’s attorneys said in a statement to local news outlets.

Published on: July 24, 2024

Carnival Cruise Lines Set to Add Three Massive Ships to Fleet – What You Should Know

By Leesfield & Partners

Carnival Cruise Lines is adding to its ships including three that rival in carrying capacity with Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.

The three new ships from Carnival are reported to be the largest vessels operated by the company and will be able to carry nearly 8,000 passengers. Construction of the first ship is scheduled to be completed in 2029 with the other two following in 2031 and 2033, according to reporting from national news outlets.

Currently, the cruise line operates 26 ships with stays in places like the Bahamas, the Mexican Riviera, the Pacific Islands and Australia. Earlier this year, the company announced two other ships would be added to its fleet in 2027 and 2028 in addition to five vessels it is taking over from sister brands.

Published on: June 24, 2024

Water parks and cruise lines see dollar signs, not people. How these industries leave patrons vulnerable to injury

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman sues SeaWorld after being injured at its Aquatica water park on a slide last year when another patron “violently colliding” with her.

The woman was visiting SeaWorld’s Aquatica in Orlando when she said she went on a slide that had no lifeguard stationed outside of it to monitor when patrons had safely gone down the slide and give permission for the next person to go. Before the woman got off her water slide, another adult guest got on and “violently colliding” with her, causing her permanent injury, her attorneys said in the lawsuit.

This story is, unfortunately, not unique. A 7-year-old at Jungle Island in Miami visiting the park with his summer camp was luckily saved by a lifeguard who saw the child, not wearing a life vest, struggling in the water. The lifeguard performed CPR on the child who had to be taken to the hospital where he went into cardiac arrest but, thankfully, came out of the ordeal safely, according to previous reporting of the incident.

Published on: August 18, 2017

More cruise ship injuries, deaths and incidents as safety practices become more lax.

By Leesfield & Partners

The cruise ship industry is plagued by norovirus and other multiple claims of sickness and illness from unsanitized standards and crew practices. Fortunately, those incidents are often temporary and transient. However, in an effort to aggressively compete, each major cruise line has made their ship a “recreational or theme park” resulting in more serious injuries, drowning accidents and deaths on board and through excursion packages.

Where is the ship that doesn’t have tennis and basketball courts, Jacuzzis, water slides and an entire array of poorly planned and non-supervised activities to keep passengers fully occupied. “The experience is no longer the cruise, but rather the activities aboard the cruise ship,” according to noted maritime lawyer, Ira Leesfield. An online search of the diverse and dangerous activities for each vessel does not reveal the failure to provide lifeguards, safety officers and crime deterrent, uniform and non-uniformed cruise personnel.

Recent rise in cases through the cruise industry is commensurate with the tremendous increase in the number of passengers and the obvious profit incentive of shepherding the largest number of passengers with the smallest number of staff.

Published on: July 22, 2016

The Maritime Limitation Action – When you cannot avoid it, Postpone it!

By Leesfield & Partners

51hYy2KWKwL._SX384_BO1,204,203,200_ In the mid-nineteenth century, Congress passed the “Limitation Act” to induce capitalists to invest money in the maritime and shipping industries. The Act achieves this purpose by exempting allegedly innocent vessel owners from any liability beyond the value of their vessel, i.e. “the limitation fund.” In other words, where a vessel owner is not personally negligent, the full extent of his liability is the limitation fund. The Act applies to all kinds of vessels, including commercial boats, pleasure yachts, and even jet skis. Most commonly, the Limitation Act is invoked where a maritime accident is caused solely by the negligence of the vessel owner’s employee or agent. When faced with liability, a vessel owner may file a petition for protection under the Limitation Act, which must be filed in federal court.

After the vessel owner deposits with the court an amount representing the full value of the vessel, the court issues a stay for all related claims against the vessel owner pending in any other forum, and directs all potential claimants to file their claims against the vessel owner in the federal court within a specified period of time. See Fed. R. Civ. P. Supp. Rules F(3), F(4). In a typical proceeding under the Limitation Act, if the vessel owner is found liable, but limitation is granted, the court distributes the limitation fund among the claimants in an equitable proceeding known as a “concursus.”

Without question, the Limitation Act is an antiquated doctrine that serves to deny justice to victims of horrific maritime accidents. For instance, the owner of a large, successful maritime corporation (i.e. tow boat company, marine salvage company, jet ski rental company) may be entitled to significantly reduce the value of injury claims caused by their employees. Additionally, injury victims are forced to bring their claims in admiralty jurisdiction upon the filing of a limitation petition, which deprives them of a jury trial. As discussed below, there are exceptions to these harsh procedural hurdles that must be utilized in maritime injury cases.