Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
A cruise ship pianist was rescued on Friday, Nov. 6 by two fisherman after spending nine hours floating in the water nearly 20 miles off California’s coast, according to local media.
“The only think he said to me was, ‘thank you; I thought I was gonna die,” one of the men who pulled the 37-year-old musician from the water said.
The pianist told the fishermen that he was fallen from the 14-deck vessel, which had departed from Long Beach, California, and was on its way to Ensenada, Mexico.
Lifeguard officials told local media that the difference in water temperature due to the 2026 El Niño is to thank for the man’s survival and that had it been “a different year, no way he makes it.”
The man was taken to the hospital, and his fall is being investigated, according to media reporting.
Leesfield Shapiro has become synonymous with holding cruise lines accountable in the last five decades of serving clients throughout Florida. In that time, the personal injury law firm has represented passengers and crew members alike in some of the most gruesome onboard injuries imaginable. Leesfield Shapiro is known for zealously advocating on behalf of clients, securing the best possible outcome in their cruise ship injury cases. Over the years, the firm has obtained numerous historic results for those injured by a cruise line’s negligence.
Leesfield Shapiro
Leesfield Shapiro has obtained multi-million-dollar settlements and arbitration awards on behalf of those injured by cruise ship negligence. These individuals suffered serious and permanent damages as the result of cruise ship falls, excursion accidents, and medical negligence of a ship’s medical staff. Leesfield Shapiro understands that no one suspects injury when they are preparing for a cruise ship voyage. In fact, for many of the firm’s clients, these vacations were long-awaited journeys during which they anticipated to make life-long memories. Tragically, they did make memories only they were not as positive as they may have imagined.
The firm previously represented a mother and daughter who were failed by the crew they trusted to keep them safe on a parasailing excursion. Tragically, the mother was killed after a line suddenly snapped, sending the two into a freefall. The daughter, though she survived, suffered a catastrophic and traumatic brain injury.
Leesfield Shapiro obtained a $7,250,000 settlement for the family in that case.
For a cruise ship passenger who suffered multiple amputations as the result of a cruise ship’s medical staff’s failure to diagnose and treat the illness, Leesfield Shapiro secured a recovery for the family that was over $5.5 million.
Leesfield Shapiro previously represented a crewmember who was suffering from symptoms of nausea. When he went to the ship’s infirmary, he was treated with a medication that clearly and explicitly directed staff to inject deep into the patient’s muscle and administer slowly over time. Instead, the staff ignored the black box warning label on the medication and rapidly inserted the medication into the man’s IV, thus beginning an hours-long ordeal that left him in agony. Instead of calling for help or quickly evacuating their patient, they searched online and scrambled for a solution. Hours passed with our client in constant pain. By the time he was evacuated from the ship, 17 hours later, his arm was described by paramedics as ischemic, severely swollen, blackened, and mottled from the elbow to the fingertips.
His arm could not be saved and was amputated.
As our client in this case was a member of the ship’s crew and not a passenger, he was not permitted to file a lawsuit in U.S. courts. Instead, this case was resolved via arbitration. Leesfield Shapiro obtained a $3,337,500 arbitration award for our client.
As common carriers, cruise ships have a heightened responsibility to safeguard the passengers onboard. This means ensuring that their decks and other common areas of the ship are maintained in a reasonably safe condition, that adequate medical personnel are adequately trained and prepared to treat the various medical emergencies that may arise, and that there is security and other safety measures in place to protect passengers from criminal activity.
Previous Cases
A retired nurse who suffered a horrific accident aboard a ship required a life-saving blood transfusion. As the result of cruise medical staff negligently failing to test the blood they administered to the woman, she was diagnosed with HIV. Leesfield Shapiro settled the case for $4.25 million.
In addition to errors made while treating patients, Leesfield Shapiro has seen doctors delay or deny evacuations for patients who were in the middle of medical emergencies. These delays can occur for a myriad of reasons, however, for our clients, these decisions were made to protect the ship’s schedule and bottom line. As a result, medical situations were exacerbated, leading to further injury and death.
One family who was represented by Leesfield Shapiro went on a cruise to mark a milestone anniversary. Instead of a fun-filled family vacation, our clients suffered a tremendous loss that began with their patriarch suffering a heart attack while the ship was still in port. He was denied evacuation and the ship left for its destination, and he later died.
The firm secured a multi-million-dollar recovery in that case.
A teenager who suffered a stroke on a ship was written off for her age, despite the obvious symptoms. The case was later settled for $3 million.
In another case, the firm secured $1.5 million for a person having a stroke while on a cruise ship.
Trial Attorney Carlos Fabano settled a confidential case on behalf of the family of a wife and mother to three minor children who died after a cruise ship’s medical personnel failed to evacuate her while she suffered from a medical episode.
If you or a loved one was injured while in medical distress aboard a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield Shapiro attorney today to see if you may be eligible to make a claim.
