Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
A residential cruise ship on a three-year voyage was just shy of a few points it needed to pass a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) health inspection, officials said.
The Villa Vie Odyssey received an 81 during its July 9 inspection when it needed an 86 to pass, according to reporting from USA Today. Inspectors with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) reported issues in areas such as potable water to food safety and housekeeping. One inspector reportedly discovered a waffle iron that was allegedly covered in grease and “black debris” that was being stored with clean equipment. Water was also found pooled beneath one of the wine cellar refrigerators. Near another refrigerator on another deck, inspectors said they found fruit flies.
Safety signs were also reportedly missing from the ship’s pool which would indicate depth markers in both feet and meters.
Mikael Petterson, Founder of Villa Vie Residences, told reporters with USA Today that it is important to note that the deficiencies — many of which he said were not related to food and safety — had to do with structural and design elements that were constructed before these standards were in place.
“Unlike modern vessels designed specifically for regular U.S. operations, the Odyssey was not originally built for this market, making direct comparisons somewhat unfair,” he said.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling cruise ship injury cases. With a flagship office just a short drive away from Port Miami — the largest passenger port that has been dubbed the “cruising capital of the world” — our attorneys have seen just about every class of injury that can occur at sea involving both passengers and crew. As common carriers, cruise lines have a heightened duty to protect those on board from harm. When accidents do occur, however, these companies will do everything they can to evade responsibility. Renowned for innovative legal strategies and relentless representation of injured clients and grieving families, our firm has earned a considerable reputation for holding these companies accountable. The firm has gained national and international recognition for its work in representing both passengers and crew members injured aboard cruise ships.
One example of this can be seen in a case of a crew member who reported to the ship’s infirmary with symptoms of nausea. When administering a medication meant to quell his symptoms, medical staff on the ship ignored the clear warning labels that instructed them to inject the medication deep into the muscle over a period of time. Instead, this medication was erroneously injected straight into the man’s IV. He was in immediate agony. In the chaos, which lasted 17 painful hours before he could disembark from the ship, the doctors caring for our client searched online for what to do. By the time he was finally able to disembark from the ship and seek medical attention on shore, our client’s arm displayed early signs of necrosis with erythema, tenderness and cyanosis.
Doctors at the hospital were eventually forced to amputate his right arm. Leesfield & Partners secured an over $3 million arbitration award for the man.
Previous Medical Malpractice Cases on Ships
Leesfield & Partners represented a family and their 9-month-old daughter who were traveling for the first time on a ship when their lives were forever changed. The infant was misdiagnosed with a stomach bug during their journey by cruise doctors. This medical staff on the ship missed her meningitis symptoms and did not administer the necessary medication.
As a result, the child became a multi-digital and foot amputee. A substantial recovery amount was secured by the firm in that case.
Due to the negligence and utter carelessness of cruise ship doctors, a Leesfield & Partners client developed a lifelong virus. In this case, the 72-year-old retired nurse suffered a medical emergency while on the ship. She was given an emergency blood transfusion that was not screened for HIV and, as a result, was later diagnosed with HIV.
The firm secured a settlement of $4.25 million for the woman in that case.
In addition to hiring subpar medical professionals, many cruise lines will attempt to deter or deny patient evacuations in an attempt to keep to their voyage schedules. In denying evacuations for patients in distress, these cruise lines have done further harm to patients in need of proper medical care. Previously, Leesfield & Partners handled the case of a woman, 65, who suffered a stroke on a ship.
The firm obtained a $4 million award for the client after the cruise ship failed to evacuate her.
A $16-year-old client was denied an evacuation and was misdiagnosed despite her obvious signs of a stroke. The firm obtained a $3 million settlement for the minor and her family.
Other Cruise Ship Incidents
Leesfield & Partners handles all manner of cruise ship incidents in addition to medical malpractice cases. Previously, the firm secured a $7.25 million settlement for a mother and daughter whose parasailing excursion went terribly wrong. The excursion, purchased aboard the ship they were traveling on, went awry when a rope suddenly snapped in high winds. The two, who were already up in the air, fell rapidly toward the water. The mother was killed in the incident and the daughter suffered life-changing injuries.
In an attempt to avoid liability, the cruise attempted to claim that the company that handled the excursion was an independent contractor, however, this did not work as the experience was purchased and arranged on the ship
Another cruise ship excursion gone wrong being handled by the firm involves a negligent and poorly trained jet ski tour guide who hit our client from behind in an attempt to pass her on the water. The resulting injuries in that case include fractures of our client’s spine and significant bruising.
That case, which is being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro, is ongoing.
Another ongoing case involves hidden cameras which were planted in the private bathrooms inside various passenger cabins by a crew member. The crew member in that case was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for planting the cameras and filming multiple passengers, many of whom were children.
Our client, who was among those that were filmed without her knowledge or consent, said the ordeal had left her traumatized and devastated.
In media interviews regarding the case, Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm, said that more needs to be done to protect passengers.
“If we hold these carriers, these cruise lines … accountable for these kind of situations, they can now proactively seek out this misconduct and these people, these individuals that can commit these kind of actions against their passengers before it even occurs,” he said.
