Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
A security guard at a well-known beach club in Cozumel, Mexico, lost an arm after a crocodile attack at the property this week, according to reporting from Cruise News Today.
The incident happened around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
The 30-year-old security guard was taken to the hospital but tragically lost his right arm.
Neither Civil Protection Cozumel, the local police force, nor firefighters and lifeguards were notified of the incident and claimed in a social media post that no official report was made. An investigation is underway.
Last year, at a cruise ship resort in the Bahamas, at least two people died in separate drowning incidents. The first passenger, 79, was snorkeling off one of the resort’s beaches when he was seen unresponsive in the water. Tragically, lifeguards could not revive him. The second incident, involving a 74-year-old woman, occurred in the resort’s pool. She was pulled from the water by lifeguards but could not be revived.
Leesfield & Partners: Representing Injured Passengers and Crew for Five Decades
Leesfield & Partners has represented clients from all over the world who have traveled to Florida for a cruise ship voyage. Tragically, for our clients, the fun-filled vacations that they imagined turned into a nightmare. From slip and falls that resulted in permanent injuries to assaults and negligent medical care at ship infirmaries, our attorneys have seen just about every case of injury that can occur at sea. In five decades of representing these clients, our firm has been routinely recognized as among the personal injury law firms in the U.S., with our attorneys ranking among the leaders in their field both statewide and nationally.
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 Cruise Ship Injuries
The firm obtained a multi-million-dollar recovery for a woman who was raped by a crewmember while traveling on a cruise ship. The crew member abused his employee status by using a keycard to enter the woman’s room and launch a violent attack. The woman was raped and sexually assaulted multiple times by this individual.
The firm recovered $2.5 million for a 9-year-old who collided with an unpadded steel grommet while diving for an out-of-bounds ball as he played on a ship’s basketball court. The child in that case suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a result of the traumatic incident.
Similarly, the firm represented a man, 62, who was injured while playing pickleball aboard his cruise ship. The firm settled the case for $500,000.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Evan Robinson settled a cruise ship slip and fall case for $500,000 for a client who suffered painful meniscus tears.
The firm obtained a confidential settlement for a family devastated by the traffic loss of their young daughter. In that case, the child was separated from her family aboard a ship when she leaned over a poorly designed cruise ship railing and fell five stories to her death.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys represented a passenger who suffered a severe knee injury after a nasty fall in a cruise ship’s slipper public restroom. The firm settled the case for $425,000.
One client suffered a painful fall due to an unmarked step in a cruise ship’s restaurant. The firm obtained a $350,000 slip and fall recovery for the client in that case.
Cruise Excursion Cases
The lives of a mother and daughter who were on a cruise and purchased a parasailing excursion on their ship were forever changed when a rope suddenly snapped while they were hundreds of feet up in the air. The two fell rapidly toward the water and the mother was killed while the daughter suffered life-altering injuries.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained a $7.25 million settlement for their families.
In a banana boat excursion that caused severe injuries including a fractured femur to a 68-year-old client, Leesfield & Partners obtained a six-figure settlement.
The firm also handled a cruise-sponsored shore excursion involving all-terrain vehicles that caused serious injuries to multiple cruise ship passengers. The ATV in that incident rolled over.
The firm secured a $1.28 million settlement in that case.
In the case of a special needs adult traveling with his family on a cruise ship who was killed in a shore excursion bus crash, Leesfield & Partners secured nearly $3 million for the grieving family.
Medical Malpractice Cases
When medical emergencies arise on a cruise ship in the middle of a voyage, thousands of miles from shore, cruise ship doctors are expected to have the training and facilities needed to address the passenger’s illness or injury. Oftentimes, however, these doctors are not up to par with U.S. standards, an issue that often results in further injury to their patients.
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented a woman who needed a blood transfusion while aboard a cruise ship. The ship’s medical staff failed to test the blood she was given for HIV and the woman was given HIV-positive blood.
The 72-year-old retired nurse was infected with the virus as a result. Leesfield & Partners obtained a $4.25 million settlement for the woman in that case.
A cruise ship failed to evacuate a 65-year-old woman who was suffering from a stroke. The firm secured a $4 million award for her and her family.
A 9-month-old baby who was suffering from meningitis was misdiagnosed with a stomach bug by cruise ship doctors. Despite the infant’s clear symptoms, doctors did not administer the antibiotics needed to combat the meningitis. As a result, the baby underwent multiple amputations.
The firm recovered $5.5 million for the 9-month-old and her family.
