Imagine the most amazing cruise vacation you can.
You probably envision embarking on a beautiful cruise ship and spending your days enjoying time with your family, visiting new island locations and simply just relaxing.
But what happens if you have a medical problem – or worse, a medical emergency? Will you feel comfortable with the level of medical care and treatment you might receive while at sea?
For many passengers and their family, the answer is “no.”
“I think the ship’s doctor made mistakes”….inquiries from passengers with medical negligence questions are on the rise
Our office continues to receive questions from passengers who feel as though they were victims of mistakes and medical negligence.
At some point on their cruise vacation, they visited the medical bay (sometimes called an infirmary, medical center or doctor’s office). Their visit was generally the result of an accident that required treatment or a medical complication that needed the attention of a doctor or nurse.
And, even though they were supposed to be in the hands of medical professionals, their medical situations went from bad to worse. The attending doctors and nurses made mistakes in treatment or misdiagnosed their patient’s issues.
Recently, an older couple traveling on Royal Caribbean fell victim to the mistakes of the ship’s doctor. Attempting to help the man insert his catheter, the doctor supposedly botched the simple procedure. While inserting the catheter into the man’s bladder, the catheter punctured the man’s urethra. Instead of draining urine, it only drew blood. After the mistake was made, the medical staff then failed to recognize the mistake or the dipping vitals of their patient. The man was eventually evacuated from the ship to a medical center in Mexico. You can read coverage of this incident in the Miami New Times.
This case is not unusual. Quite often, onboard doctors make mistakes. These mistakes are compounded when the mistake isn’t realized and the patient’s medical stability if affected.
What should passengers do?
While passengers are generally not doctors or nurses themselves, they tend to have a good idea of what the medical staff should have been done. When things “don’t seem right” passengers and their families start asking questions. When the answers are not satisfactory, the tend to seek out solutions.
One of those solutions is for passengers to speak with a cruise ship medical mistake lawyer so they can better understand what their legal options are. An attorney can help them understand if mistakes were made, and if so, who may have been to blame.
Don’t let questions of medical mistreatment or doctor’s mistakes go unheard
We urge any injured passenger, wherever they are in the world, to speak to an attorney if they have concerns about the way they were treated by the medical staff of a cruise ship. Experienced attorneys will be able to provide answers to your questions and provide the proper guidance that may be needed.