Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
MSC Cruises recently implemented a ban on smart glasses in common areas aboard its ships, citing the device’s ability to “covertly or discreetly” record as a reason, according to reporting over the weekend from USA Today.
While the news has only recently made headlines, MSC officials told reporters that the policy took effect in July. Guests are still able to bring the glasses aboard ships and use them on shore or in their cabins, but are prohibited from using them in the ship’s common areas.
“Smart glasses and similar devices are listed among prohibited items to ensure our security teams can intervene and confiscate the device if misuse occurs,” MSC said in a statement emailed to USA Today. “This measure is in place solely to protect the privacy and safety of all guests and crew.”
While the glasses have practical uses — such as hands-free communication, navigation, and can offer assistance for those who are deaf and/or blind — Leesfield & Partners is keenly aware that there are individuals who may take advantage of the technology and abuse it to the detriment of other passengers.
A cruise line employee was sentenced to 30 years in prison following a conviction for producing child sex abuse material after he was found planting hidden cameras in the cabins of passengers aboard the ship. Leesfield & Partners is representing at least one victim, a woman, who was left traumatized following this ordeal.
That case, which is being handled by Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II, is ongoing.
While this case does not involve smart glasses per se, it does reflect the dire need for these companies to ensure the safety of their passengers and prohibit devices on board that could be used to the detriment of those they are meant to protect.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, applauds this move to promote safety for passengers.
Leesfield & Partners
In nearly five decades of representing the victims of cruise line negligence, Leesfield & Partners has seen just about every manner of injury that can occur aboard these vessels. With that, the nationally recognized law firm has also seen the various ways in which these companies will attempt to skirt liability when a tragedy occurs. From painful excursion accidents to shocking medical malpractice incidents at the hands of a cruise ship’s medical staff, our skilled trial attorneys handle every case with the compassion and diligence to secure the best possible outcome on behalf of injured clients and their grieving families.
Leesfield & Partners has secured historic and record results throughout Florida for injured clients and actively pursues accountability on behalf of clients against some of the world’s largest cruise lines.
Recently, Partner Justin B. Shapiro settled an excursion case on behalf of a client who was seriously injured while participating in a cruise-sanctioned activity.
Carlos Fabano, a Trial Attorney at the firm, recently obtained a wrongful death recovery for the death of a parent who suffered a medical episode aboard a ship and was not treated or diagnosed properly by the ship’s medical personnel.
Previous Cases
In another tragic amputation case, a 9-month-old baby’s meningococcal meningitis was misdiagnosed by a stomach bug. As a result of this error, the infant underwent multiple amputations. Leesfield & Partners secured an over $5.5 million award for the family in that case.
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. The firm settled the case for $4.25 million.
In addition to errors made while treating patients, Leesfield & Partners 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 & Partners 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 Leesfield & Partners client and crew member experienced the consequences of negligent medical care aboard ships when he went to his ship’s infirmary for symptoms of nausea. What should have been a simple enough ailment to treat resulted in this man losing an arm due to the negligence of the medical staff aboard the ship. To combat his symptoms, he was given via IV a medication with a black box warning label clearly stating that the medication should be injected deep into the muscle slowly over a few minutes. Instead, a member of the medical staff injected it rapidly into our client’s IV. He was in immediate agony.
This was the beginning of an excruciating, hours-long ordeal in which his arm became necrotic and his skin blackened. While the tissue on his arm continued to slowly die, cruise ship doctors searched online for ways to help. Eventually, he was able to seek medical attention on shore where doctors attempted to save his arm. Tragically, they could not.
In the end, our client lost his right arm due to the errors of the doctors aboard the cruise ship. Our client was awarded over $3.3 million in arbitration thanks to the work of attorneys at Leesfield & Partners.
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.
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 on the traumatic incident.
In another case, the firm secured $1.5 million for a person having a stroke while on a cruise ship.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys represented a woman who was raped in her cruise ship cabin by a member of the crew. The man abused his employee status and used a keycard to enter the woman’s room and launch his violent attack.
The firm secured a seven-figure-result in that case.
The firm represented a man, 62, who was injured while playing pickleball aboard his cruise ship. The firm settled the case for $500,000.
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.
