The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury relating to negligent medical care on the Norwegian Star, a ship owned by Norwegian Cruise Line.

Norwegian Cruise Line owns and operates approximately 12 cruise ships under the NCL brand. For each of these ships, Norwegian Cruise Line represents in its marketing materials to prospective passengers in order for them to rely on these representations that Norwegian Cruise Line provides a physician and nurse “on each ship to provide medical care and services”, that the cruise line provides an infirmary on each ship, and that the shipboard physician and nurse are available “24 hours a day for medical emergencies while the ship is at sea”, that it in fact provides medical care for its passengers. This medical care is in the form of “infirmary staff” which includes doctors and nurses and “shipboard infirmaries”.

NCL provides more than just a physician. It provides an “infirmary staff” and it provides “shipboard infirmaries”. It also does provide a physician or physicians and holds out those physicians as apparent agents of the cruise line. It holds out the physician as an officer of the ship and someone who acts as an agent of Norwegian Cruise Line. Thus, NCL is in the business of providing medical services, medical facilities, and medical staff, and controls the relationship of the medical staff and the passengers at a time, in this case, when the passenger had no choice as to which medical facility to use, that is, the one onboard the ship. NCL made these representations and voluntarily undertook to provide emergency and non-emergency medical services to the decedent, our client.

The master of the ship, the Norwegian Star, a ship owned and operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, made the ultimate decision not to transport the now deceased passenger, our client, from the ship in time when our client was suffering from a heart attack. That decision was made out of concern for the ship’s schedule and budget, not for the life of its passenger. As a result of that decision, our client did not receive medical attention in a sophisticated medical facility which could properly monitor and treat his condition. Also as a result of that decision, our client remained onboard the ship where the ship’s infirmary staff and the ship’s medical facilities made decisions which fell below the standard of care and which were unreasonable under the circumstances, causing our client’s incapacitation and eventual death.

As a result of the cruise line’s negligence, our client suffered horrific pain and suffering and mental anguish prior to falling into a vegetative state and his eventual death.

The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury relating to negligent medical care on the Celebrity Summit, a ship owned by Celebrity Cruise Line.

On January 11, 2009, our client, a Celebrity cruise passenger, presented at the Celebrity medical center onboard the Celebrity Summit. Our client had a fever 104° F, weakness, and incontinence. He had a history of diabetes, hypertension, and renal insufficiency.

In violation of the standard of care for treatment of a diabetic patient with a fever of 104° F and no clearly identifiable source for the fever, the ship and its physician advised against getting off of the ship and thus against admission to a hospital competent to treat such a potentially life threatening medical condition or urgency or emergency, and failed to provide or take blood and urine cultures, chest x-ray, and broad spectrum antibiotic coverage.

Contrary to the representations of Celebrity in its literature that it would have two qualified physicians onboard its cruise ship, it had only one. That one doctor admitted that he was overworked and overwhelmed. Yet, apparently because of the compensation system or some mistaken belief that this was not an urgent and life threatening problem, and in violation of the standard of care, the doctor specifically recommended that our client remain on the ship and under his care at Celebrity’s onboard infirmary.

The next day on January 12, 2009, our client had an episode and was shaking and vomiting. In violation of the standard of care, no temperature or other vital signs were documented by the doctor and no exam is documented. Yet again, apparently because of the compensation system or some mistaken belief that this was not an urgent and life threatening problem, and in violation of the standard of care, the doctor specifically recommended that our client remain on the ship and under his care at Celebrity’s onboard infirmary.

On or before January 12, 2009, our client through his wife requested that they leave the ship and later in the cruise that they be airlifted off of the ship and flown to a hospital competent to handle this medical crisis. That request was made to the ship’s physician and to Guest Services of Celebrity on the ship. Both the ship’s physician and Guest Services represented that our client and his wife could not communicate directly with the ship’s command and that there were as many as 6 captains onboard. In any event, our client through his wife was advised also that a medical evacuation would not be possible.

On January 13, 2009, our client was noted to be “not drinking or eating”. He was treated with IV fluids, but again, in violation of the standard of care no exams or vital signs were documented. The doctor reported our client was improved on January 14, 2009 but recorded no objective data. Yet again, apparently because of the compensation system or some mistaken belief that this was not an urgent and life threatening problem, and in violation of the standard of care, the doctor specifically recommended that our client remain on the ship and under his care at Celebrity’s onboard infirmary.

On January 15, 2009, our client complained of abdominal distention and constipation. He was given a laxative and passed a bloody stool. Again, in violation of the standard of care, the doctor failed to document any exam or vital signs. That evening, the patient passed a large amount of blood. Celebrity physician’s brief exam reports that the Celebrity passenger was “cold and clammy” as well as “pale”. The passenger’s blood pressure was noted to be low. Again, more objective data was not recorded. More rectal bleeding was noted that evening. The standard of care would require immediate transfer to a hospital for management of our client’s gastrointestinal bleed. Yet again, apparently because of the compensation system or some mistaken belief that this was not an urgent and life threatening problem, and in violation of the standard of care, the doctor specifically recommended that our client remain on the ship and under his care at Celebrity’s onboard infirmary.

On January 16, 2009, our client was noted to be confused and febrile, although interestingly the chart is not clear or detailed as to his condition or what was done. The patient was started on IV and antibiotics. The patient was suffering from septic shock, was very anemic and had a hemoglobin of four. Finally, the cruise line arranged for a transport to a hospital. Time was of the essence. Yet, the cruise line arranged for transport to a hospital 45 minutes away even though it had represented that it was going to arrange for transport to a hospital 10 minutes away from the ship.

As a result of the negligence of Celebrity Cruise Line, including but not limited to the misdiagnosis of his condition, lack of care, failure to administer the correct medications, failure to transport to a hospital, failure to transport to a hospital in a timely manner and as quickly as possible, failure to evacuate the patient off of the ship, our client suffered colonic perforation, raging biventricular infection, sepsis, and he was required to undergo surgery in Puerto Rico and critical medical care in Boston, MA, and to wear a colostomy bag from the date of his first surgery to the present date.

The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury relating to an automobile accident caused by the driver of a Florida Department of Transportation vehicle.

On or about May 4, 2007, the driver of a motor vehicle owned and/or operated by Florida Department of Transportation caused a motor vehicle accident where the State owned vehicle, a van, and the vehicle driven by our client were both headed southbound on State Road 821. The state owned vehicle then suddenly and without warning swerved and crashed into the vehicle owned and operated by our client, forcing his vehicle off the road and to roll over down an embankment, thereby causing severe damages to the vehicle and causing severe, permanent, and debilitating injuries to our client, including partial paralysis.

The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury relating to an excursion purchased on the Celebrity Summit, a ship owned by Celebrity Cruise Line.

Celebrity is and at all times material hereto was engaged in the business of providing a cruise vacation experience to the public. Part and parcel of this experience are the shore excursions. Celebrity provides, organizes, promotes, advertises, and vouches for the safety of its excursions which are sold through its website, in its literature, and onboard its ships.

Celebrity in an effort to steer its passengers to its excursions, makes representations in its literature and videos and onboard about the safety and security of the excursion. Those representations are detailed below.

Based on the representations and assurances made by the cruise line, our client, a passenger onboard the Celebrity Summit in February 2009, chose to take a Celebrity excursion on the island of Dominica. Celebrity called this excursion “Cooking Caribbean Adventure”.

The Celebrity excursion buses in order to pick up the passengers at the pier to take them up to the excursion were in fact large, substantial, and appeared to be good working condition. Unbeknownst to the passengers, however, the Celebrity excursion switched vehicles and used a different vehicle in order to transport the passengers at the end of the excursion down the mountain.

The vehicle chosen and used by the Celebrity excursion in order to transport the passengers from the excursion site back to the pier was in fact a 1969 flat bed truck with wooden platform on the back. Framing was nailed down or otherwise attached to a wooden platform apparently to hold up a wooden roof. Flat wooden benches were nailed or otherwise attached together on the flatbed for seating. There were no seatbelts, roll cage, or safety compartment for passengers, no airbags, no framing to hold the passengers in, if in fact the vehicle did go off the road or come to an abrupt stop.

Further, this vehicle had defective brakes and/or steering and/or suspension and/or other mechanical systems. The vehicle was in this condition using a mountain road which was narrow, steep, winding, pothole riddled, and without any shoulder.

Further, the driver chosen by Celebrity’s excursion company was unqualified, untrained, inexperienced, and inappropriate for the commercial transport of passengers in such a vehicle on such roadways.

On the date of this accident, February 23, 2009, the vehicle used by the Celebrity excursion to transport the passengers from the cooking school location back down to the cruise ship, while on the winding, steep mountain road, lost its brakes and/or ability to steer, and when the bus attempted to make a left turn threw off the passengers onto the roadway. The bus eventually broke up and went into a gulley on the side of the road next to an embankment on the side of the mountain. Those passengers, including our client, suffered severe, permanent, and debilitating injuries. Our client suffered injuries including but not limited to ten fractured ribs on the right side, a collapsed lung, and a right orbital fracture requiring surgery

The following is a description of a personal injury case we have filed. This is a case involving a personal injury aboard the Carnival Paradise, a ship owned by Carnival Cruise Line.

Carnival Corporation owns and operates the cruise ship, Carnival Paradise. The cruise line maintains and provides for passengers use of a curved staircase with 6 steps leading up to the stage in the Normandy Lounge of the subject vessel. The sides of the staircase form two walls, which extend and jut out past the first stair, making it inappropriate and unreasonable for use by passengers. The color of the wall blended in with the décor and carpeting. Under dim lighting, our client could see the track lights on the steps. However, the cruise line was negligent and did not install lights on the curved wall.

Accordingly, when our client went to the ticket box next to the stage to submit a scratch-off ticket with her name and cabin number written on the back for a chance to win a free prize, she tripped over the part of the stair wall that jutted out past the first step. Our client in this case tore her right rotator cuff, which required surgery and implantation of hardware. Our client may be required to undergo surgery in the future.

The Arstasis One Access System, a type of arterial catheter that was originally recalled on October 19, 2010, has been heightened to a more serious recall by the FDA. The FDA has made the arterial catheter a Class 1 recall because of catheter malfunctions, like cracking or breaking. Class 1 recall are the most significant and dangerous type of recalls with a high probability of causing serious injury or death. Arterial catheters involved in the recall were circulated from May 14, 2010 to October 13, 2010. The recall affects two models of the product — AAD100 and AAD101 — and four lot numbers: 09I10268, 1OC26337, 09J06281, and 10C12334.

The company mailed recall letters to customers informing them of the recall and requesting they return the affected product for an “improved product” that did not have the breaking issue, an FDA statement said.

The device consists of a sheath/anchor, shaft, and handle with control features, the statement said.

The One Access System is used in femoral artery catheterization procedures and can be used with manual compression to help stop bleeding in the femoral artery, the statement said.

Primary Sources: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/FDAGeneral/24802