This is reason no. 6 in the series: Top 10 Reasons Not To Cruise

The last place you want to become ill or injured is on a cruise ship far away from a U.S. port.

Cruise ship medical care is limited.  Ship doctors are usually from foreign medical schools.  The shipboard facilities are often inadequate and the medical care is sub-standard.  Consider reading "Cruise Ship Medical Care Spotty" (Consumer Affairs) and "Ocean Liners’ Medical Care May Not Be Shipshape." (CNN)

Cruise Ship Doctor - Cruise Line MalpracticeMost disturbing is the fact that cruise lines are not legally responsible when their ship doctors commit malpractice.

In Carnival v. Carlisle, a family took a vacation cruise aboard Carnival’s Ecstasy.  During the cruise, the family’s 14 year old daughter developed abdominal pain and was seen several times by the cruise ship doctor.  The doctor assured the concerned family that it was not a case of appendicitis, but was just the flu.  When the family returned home to Michigan, a U.S. doctor correctly diagnosed a ruptured appendix.  Due to the rupture, infection and delay in treatment, the daughter was rendered sterile.

The family sued Carnival for damages caused by the Carnival ship doctor’s negligence.  The Florida Supreme Court ruled, however, that cruise lines like Carnival are not legally responsible when the ship doctor commits malpractice.  The Court held that because the ship doctors are "independent contractors," cruise lines cannot be held vicariously liable for the doctor’s wrongdoing.

If a passenger is injured or killed due to malpractice by the ship doctor, the passenger is forced to try and sue the doctor.  This is problematic for several reasons.   The doctor inevitably does not live in the U.S.  It is very difficult to serve a ship doctor with a lawsuit or obtain personal jurisdiction.  Also, many doctors do not have liability insurance and have few assets.   

This presents a "double whammy" to passengers.  The chance of receiving bad medical care is greater on a foreign flagged cruise ship than in a passenger’s home town.  And if there is malpractice, the cruise line can avoid responsibility because of the "independent contractor" defense.  

This leaves an injured passenger, or the family’s surviving family members, forced to try and chase the foreign ship doctors around the world to obtain accountability.

Cruise Ship Doctor - Independent Contractor? Over one-half of the passengers who seek medical treatment during cruises are over age 65.  Many passengers have pre-existing medical conditions including heart conditions.  Elderly passengers are at risk for complications on cruise ships with noro-virus and are then at the mercy of incompetent or inattentive ship doctors.  For an example of cruise ship medical negligence, consider reading:

Cruise Ship Doctors: Roll The Dice With Your Life

As long as cruise lines are not liable for bad medical care, there is no financial incentive for the ships to hire more qualified and experienced doctors and nurses. 

There is no economic or moral justification for such an inequitable situation.  The cruise industry collects over $35 billion dollars a year and pays no Federal income taxes by registering their cruise ships in foreign countries.       

Most passengers do not understand that the "Carnival" ship doctor, wearing a uniform with a "Carnival" badge, is not considered by the cruise line to be a "Carnival" employee. 

If the ship doctor’s negligence kills your parent or maims your child, what are you going to do?

This lack of accountability by the cruise industry is another reason why Americans should think twice about taking a family cruise. 

November 11, 2014 Update: Breaking News! Cruise passengers are now permitted to sue the cruise lines for medical negligence. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that cruise lines are no longer permitted to assert an "immunity defense" when their ship doctors and nurses commit medical malpractice. Read: 11th Circuit Rejects Cruise Lines’ Immunity Defense to Medical Malpractice Claims. Contact us for further information.

Tomorrow, we will discuss Reason No. 7 Not to Cruise: Cruise Lines Exploit Foreign Crew Members, Like You’d Never Believe.

 

Credits:

Photographs       TBO.com News Channel 8 (Jim Hockett) "Cruise Ship’s Doctor Puts Elderly Man Ashore"