Family Sues After Baby’s Meningitis Misdiagnosed on Cruise Resulting in Triple Amputation

Baby Phoebe went on her first vacation in February. Before the end of the trip, she would be gravely ill with a meningitis infection that would result in triple amputation.

NBC Miami reports that after Phoebe and her family set sail on the Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, Phoebe fell severely ill. The family reportedly visited the ship’s infirmary five times, every time being sent back to their cabin. On the final visit Phoebe’s parents demanded a treatment, and the ship’s medical personnel prescribed Phoebe a course of antibiotics. Unsatisfied, Phoebe’s family took her off the ship at St. Martin to seek medical help.

At St. Martin doctors confirmed what Phoebe’s parents suspected: she was gravely ill. The doctors told the family that if they did not act soon, within the next 15 minutes, she would die. Phoebe’s condition was so severe that her parents airlifted her back to South Florida for urgent treatment. There, doctors were forced to amputate Phoebe’s feet and the fingers of her left hand in order to save her life.

Phoebe’s family has now filed suit against Royal Caribbean, claiming that the Symphony of the Seas’ onboard medical staff misdiagnosed Phoebe with a stomach bug while she was showing clear signs of a meningococcal meningitis infection.