Cruise Ship Medical Malpractice

Prior to 2014, holding cruise ship doctors and nurses accountable for medical mistakes had been nearly impossible for injured passengers because for decades cruise lines have been insulated from legal liability when passengers received inadequate or negligent medical care from the ship’s doctors and nurses. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this standard in a case called Franza v. Royal Caribbean. The United States Appellate Court has made it far easier for injured passengers to sue cruise lines for medical malpractice in a ruling that involved an elderly cruise ship passenger who fell during a cruise– while docked in Bermuda.

After falling, the passenger, Pasquale Vaglio, returned to the ship and sought medical treatment in the ship’s hospital. Unfortunately, the care was allegedly so negligent that he fell into a coma and died a week later. His daughter filed a wrongful death case against RCCL and alleged that the ship’s health care providers failed to timely diagnose Mr. Vaglio’s cranial trauma.

She filed the lawsuit against Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, located in Miami, Florida. The trial judge, the Hon. Joan A. Lenard dismissed her complaint by applying the longstanding maritime legal concept that provides immunity to cruise lines like RCCL when a crew member renders negligent medical care to passengers.

In a 63-page opinion appellate court Judge Marcus juxtaposed maritime law with legal theories of medical malpractice, personal injury, and agency law. The court found that maritime law supports holding Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., as vicariously liable for the medical negligence of its on board nurses and doctors. This law sends a clear message to the cruise industry by holding it responsible to provide injured passengers a higher standard of medical care.

If harmed by medical negligence while onboard a cruise ship, you have the legal right to hold those responsible accountable. Cruise injury claims are complex due to jurisdictional issues, so it is important to contact an experienced cruise ship medical malpractice attorney right away. Miami-based Aronfeld Trial Lawyers has fought hard to hold cruise lines accountable when they put their profits ahead of passenger safety. We are available 24/7 and encourage you to contact us even if you are still on your cruise. Most cruise lines, including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity,Norwegian, MSC,Disney,Holland America, Princess, Costa, Regents Seven Seas and Oceania require that claims against them be pursued in a very specific place under very strict deadlines. Failure to comply with each individual cruise lines deadlines can result in a complete loss of any and all legal rights.