Miami Cruise Ship Medical Malpractice Lawyer
25+ Years of Maritime Experience
Most people associate cruise ships with vacationing, travel, and fun, but passengers can get injured on cruise ships as often as they can get injured on land. While cruise ship passenger injuries commonly consist of drownings, illnesses spread across the ship, and broken bones acquired from slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice can also contribute to the injuries. Cruise lines may be held accountable if their healthcare professionals aboard their ship injure passengers or provide substandard care. If you or a loved one were harmed by an onboard doctor or nurse, call Michael C. Black. P.A. for legal counsel. Our Miami cruise ship medical malpractice lawyer has more than 25 years of experience helping clients who have been injured at sea and aboard cruise ships and treats every client with the compassion they deserve during a painful time.
Call (305) 964-8792, or contact us online for a free consultation. Our team is prepared to fight for your desired results and help you reclaim your life after a cruise ship injury has put everything on hold.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Cruise lines have a responsibility to keep their staff and passengers safe, which includes providing them with competent medical care. It’s especially important that medical care is readily accessible on a cruise ship because there are no other medical centers or hospitals around if something happens. Unfortunately, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are human and prone to making human errors.
Some common types of medical malpractice include:
- Failure to diagnose
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to provide medical treatment
- Denied medical treatment
- Incorrect medical treatment
While medical malpractice cases at sea can be the same as cases found on land, another reality is that some cruise ships may lack basic medical necessities like MRI or CT scanners, and as a result, doctors may not be able to detect health conditions in their patients until it’s too late. If a passenger suffers a heart attack on the ship and the doctor isn’t equipped to perform a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to revive them, for example, they may be held responsible for negligence. Additionally, the longer patients go without diagnoses and treatment, the worse their conditions may get.
Common accidents that can occur on board and lead to the need for medical treatment include slip and fall accidents, recreational accidents, assault, and food poisoning. Some passengers don’t even realize they’re victims of medical malpractice until after their cruise is over and an offshore doctor determines they’ve been injured or ill.
Who is Liable for Medical Malpractice Aboard a Cruise Ship?
Injuries aboard cruise ships should be taken seriously, especially because while at sea, other hospitals are inaccessible. When injuries or illnesses occur or are worsened aboard a cruise ship or vessel, it’s often challenging to determine what court has jurisdiction over a personal injury case or who is directly responsible for damages.
In general, the liable parties in a cruise ship medical malpractice case are:
- The negligent medical professional: There may be some cases where it’s possible to directly hold the cruise line’s doctor or other medical professional responsible for medical malpractice, but even then things can become complicated. Doctors on cruise ships don’t always have malpractice insurance, and it’s also possible that medical professionals aboard ships don’t live in the United States, meaning it’s not an option for victims and families to file a claim against them.
- The cruise line: While cruise ship companies will typically distance themselves from their medical professionals to avoid responsibility when an injury or death occurs, it’s often possible to hold cruise lines directly accountable for medial malpractice. Some cruise lines will even cite doctors and nurses as independent contractors and not employees in an effort to deny liability.
Though cruise ship injury claims can be complex to navigate, our attorney has more than 25 years of experience handling maritime claims and knows what to look for to determine liability and ensure you get the compensation you need to treat your injuries. From medical bills to lost wages, we work so our clients don’t have to pay a dime.
Our Miami cruise ship medical malpractice attorney is prepared to pursue justice on your behalf after you’ve been injured. Call us to learn more about how we can help at (305) 964-8792.
