A medical error can occur anywhere where medical attention can be sought, even on a cruise ship. An injury on a cruise ship can occur through different means. No matter the cause for an accident on a cruise ship, competent medical care is expected to be given to all passengers of the cruise ship, that includes you and your loved one.
If the injury of a passenger is made worse because of subpar medical care that is provided to them, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be brought upon the cruise line company by you or your loved one.
Cruise line companies are a business and focus on entertaining their passengers, but forget about the most important aspect of it all, ensuring that their patients are safe and well cared for in the event that they do need medical attention. Cruise lines do not invest many resources in having professional, qualified, and trained medical professionals on board.
Enduring an injury because of a negligent medical professional while on board a cruise ship can leave long-lasting pain and suffering, financial bills, and mental trauma. For this reason, cruise ship medical malpractice professional Miami lawyers from Percy Martinez Law Firm dedicate their time in fighting for the rights of their clients and recovering the maximum compensation.
In the past, cruise line companies were protected against claims of medical malpractice because the medical professionals on board were viewed as independent contractors, meaning they had nothing to do with the cruise line company.
Thankfully, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this protection in the year 2011 and stated that cruise lines did not need to be protected because this rule was outdated. As long as the victim can prove that the medical professional was an employee of the cruise ship and not an independent contractor, the cruise line would be held liable if not, the medical professional will be responsible.
Factors That Can Hold Cruise Line Liable for Malpractice
Passengers can be subjected to the same errors like at any other medical setting such as misdiagnoses, failure to treat, and ordering of improper tests, just to name a few. Because who is subjected to liability is often blurred with cruise ship accidents and medical malpractice, there are a number of factors that can exists where liability will definitely be that of the cruise line.
A cruise line can be found liable for the negligent actions of their medical professionals if any of the following pertains to the cruise line:
⦁ Medical center was advertised to the passengers
⦁ Cruise line is able to fire and hire medical professionals
⦁ Medical staff wears the cruise ship’s uniform
⦁ Medical staff is paid by the cruise line
⦁ Cruise line acquires medicine equipment and supplies for the medical center
⦁ Passengers are charged for their medical services while on board
If any of the above applies to the cruise line, they can be found liable for the physician’s error. A mistake in the medical world can leave a passenger with a debilitating injury and anguishing pain, or even worse, it could cause a wrongful death.
Forms of Medical Malpractice That Surface in Cruise Ships
Ensuring that the medical team on board is qualified and trained to handle any number of injuries and conditions is essential and required on a cruise ship. For the most part, the medical center within the cruise ship is the only location that an individual can seek help while overseas. When the medical staff is competent or fails to act, a passenger can suffer a medical negligence. Some forms of medical malpractice that can occur include:
⦁ Delay in treatment: A delay in treatment occurs when a medical provider either cannot diagnose your condition or takes too long in providing you with the necessary tests to determine what you have. A delay in treat can be deadly because some conditions require immediate action.
⦁ Delay in diagnosing medical condition
⦁ Failing to diagnose medical condition: Failing to diagnose a medical condition happens a lot. Many times, medical providers lack experience or cannot discover what their patient has. This failure to diagnose can be detrimental for the well-being of the patient.
⦁ Diagnosing the medical condition incorrectly: Diagnosing a condition incorrectly, most commonly addresses as “misdiagnosis” is extremely common. Did you know that at least once in your lifetime a condition or injury you have will be misdiagnosed? Many people are shocked to find that medical malpractice is the ⦁ third leading cause of deaths among Americans and misdiagnosis plays a major role in those numbers.
⦁ Giving the wrong medication to the patient
⦁ Administering too much anesthesia: Anesthesia is used through every surgery and procedure. A mistake with the administration of anesthesia can result in a patient’s death. For example, an anesthesiologist injects a woman going in for a c-section with an epidural in the wrong muscle, leaving her paralyzed.
⦁ Not providing swift medical treatment
⦁ Ordering the wrong tests
⦁ Refusing to treat the patient
Refusing treatment to a patient aboard a cruise ship is not uncommon, especially if the medical professional believes that the victim was not severely injured. Refusing to treat a patient can amount to a medical malpractice because if the refusal to treat leads to a greater injury, the medical professional or cruise line can be legally responsible for the damages that you or your loved one endure.
How is Negligence Defined in a Medical Malpractice Incident?
The main theory of liability in reference to medical malpractice is negligence. This type of claim is part of Tort Law. Medical malpractice has been a very controversial subject since the 1970s. Those in favor of medical malpractice lawsuits have been the tort attorneys who argue that these lawsuits have been great for the policing of medical professionals and compensating those who have been injured, whereas the medical professionals argue against medical lawsuits to deter from the large sums of compensation that victims receive.
When a person claims that a medical professional exhibited negligence, they have to show how these following four elements applied to their injury:
⦁ The medical professional was supposed to provide a duty of care
⦁ The standard of care was not met by the medical professional
⦁ The victim suffered an injury from the medical professional’s negligence
⦁ The lack of standard of care is what caused that injury
The plaintiff is left with the burden of having to prove that all of these four elements happened in their medical malpractice claim.
How Much is My Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
fair question to ask a personal injury lawyer in Miami about a medical malpractice case is “How much is my case going to be worth?”. The way a medical malpractice case is valued depends on what type of injury and damage was sustained and the state where the medical malpractice took place. It is understandable that individuals filing a claim want to know how much they will receive and if it is even worth the hassle of going through a lawsuit. We hope this following information helps:
The Formula for Medical Malpractice Settlement
The following formula is usually used to determine how much value the jury or judge will award the victim:
Value = Specific damages (past and future) + General Damages (past and future)
Sometimes, punitive damages can also be awarded depending on how severe the medical negligence was. For example, a jury might award a victim of an intoxicated surgeon punitive damages because the surgeon knew that being intoxicated can cause injuries. The punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant.
Two parties that have experienced the same medical negligence still would not be compensated the same amount because no medical malpractice case is the same. The specific damages would be easy to award because those are numbers that can be added, while general damages cannot be added numerically. The value for General damages will depend on how the jury feels about the case and whether they have had any personal experience with the same type of medical negligence.
Statute of Limitations
Florida statutes section 95.11 (4) (b) states the allowed time that victims of a malpractice have in the state of Florida. Once a medical error has been determined or the moment it should have been determined, the victim will have a time frame of two years form that moment in the state of Florida. In addition, once the medical allegation has taken place, despite the time the malpractice was discovered, there is a time limit of four years. The only way this would not apply to the case is if there was found to be some form of fraud, or that the victim is under the age of 8.
The only exclusion to these laws is the “fraud” aspect of the case. What the law of Florida states is that if any concealment, misrepresentation, or fraud intentionally done impeded the discover of such injury, a two-year extension would be given once the injury has been found or should have been, but from the day that the injury occurred, it cannot exceed a seven year time frame. This means that a person will have an extension of two years after the error was discovered but cannot surpass a total of seven years after the incident.
The Amount Received is Influenced by These Factors
In addition to using the formula to calculate the compensation, the amount the individual will receive is influenced by several factors. Some of those factors include:
⦁ Caps placed on the damages that can be received
⦁ Immunities on specific individuals like the government
⦁ Quality of the attorney
⦁ Location of the case
⦁ Liability of the plaintiff and defendant
Each case is unique, this means that the amount you are eligible to receive will vary on your case’s specifics. Miami medical malpractice expert Miami lawyers from Percy Martinez Law Firm can assist you with gathering this information.
Do I Need an Expert Witness for My Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
The reason why a medical expert is crucial and beneficial for a medical malpractice case is that it gives the judge and jury a sense of credibility. The medical expert would make it easy for the judge and jury to comprehend. They will decipher the complication medical terminology and use that to show exactly how the medical professional was negligent. Without a medical expert, the judge would either decide the case early or dismiss it because the technical information that must be understood would be too complex for anyone to comprehend.
Finding a medical expert is sometimes not easy and can be costly. Due to these reasons, having a Miami Cruise ship medical malpractice knowledgeable attorney that will hire the appropriate medical expert pertaining to the specific medical malpractice is essential. The testimony of the medical expert is what can make the difference between a successful lawsuit and the failure of one.
What Does the Medical Expert’s Testimony Consist Of?
Two questions will be addressed in a medical expert’s testimony. Those two questions include:
⦁ Was the standard of care utilized the same that another physician in the same position would have applied?
The medical expert will describe what another physical in the same position would have done under the same circumstance and whether the physician lived up to the standard of care.
⦁ Was the injury caused because of the violation of following the standard of care?
The medical expert will also provide their opinion on whether the violation of the standard of care was the direct cause of the patient’s injury.
Medical Malpractice Case
A standard care must be given to any passenger who needs seeks help in the medical facility of the cruise ship. The medical facilities staff is not usually equipped to treat a severe emergency. They tend to be able to treat minor illnesses and injuries. When a serious matter arises, it is something that needs to be treated immediately and effectively. In the case of an emergency, cruises lines must have a plan of action that needs to be taken. No properly acting when a person is severely injured can be means for the cruise line being liable.
⦁ There was a case about a man named Conrad Gliniecki who had a stroke on a Carnival Cruise ship. This case brought up many concerns in regard to the plan of action that cruise lines have when an emergency arises. The victim was transported to the shore, rather than being airlifted, and was then taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The delay of time it took to reach the hospital and the fact that the ambulance was not one that treated stroke victims, Gliniecki endured a disability because of the stroke. The family of Conrad proceeded to sue the cruise line stating that they did not have an adequate plan to transport him promptly to a hospital and therefore led to his disability. The case was dismissed by the court because they ruled that the cruise line did take prompt action and the care that wasn’t given to him in the ambulance was not the cruise lines fault.
Statistics on Medical Malpractice in the United States
These are some shocking numbers on medical malpractice:
⦁ Drug errors kill about 250,000 every year
⦁ Medical errors kill more people than respiratory disease
⦁ $53 million was awarded to a 12-year old boy and his mother in 2016
⦁ 15% of personal injury cases involve medical malpractice
⦁ Each year, about 20,000 claims of medical malpractice are filed
⦁ Each year, about 120,000 medical negligence incidents take place
⦁ In 2009, medical errors amounted to $35 billion
⦁ 10-20% of medical malpractice cases involved misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and lack of diagnosis.
⦁ 96% of physicians of 6,000 who were surveyed believed that diagnosis mistakes can be prevented
⦁ Surgeries performed on the wrong site occur about 40 times every week
⦁ 60% of all medical malpractice cases involve middle-aged females
⦁ 20% of all medical malpractice cases involve babies
⦁ 93% of medical malpractice cases are settled out of court
⦁ 7% of medical malpractice cases make it to trial
⦁ The average payouts for medical malpractice cases range from $290,000 to $462,000(settlements)
⦁ The average payouts for medical malpractice cases is $800,000 (trial)
⦁ Plaintiffs in settlements are favored at 61%
⦁ Plaintiffs in trial are favored at 21%
⦁ Inpatients account for 45% of medical malpractice cases
⦁ Outpatients account for 38% of medical malpractice cases
⦁ Surgical mistakes account for 23% of medical malpractice cases
⦁ Issues with treatment account for 18% of medical claims
⦁ Obstetricians account for 10% of medical claims
⦁ 2% of medical malpractice cases are reported
⦁ More than half of medical errors are filed against surgeons
⦁ The average age of a person who files a claim is 42
⦁ 20% of medical malpractice cases involve a permanent injury
FAQS ON Medical Malpractice Cases
These are some common questions asked pertaining to medical malpractice cases:
Question: Once a medical malpractice has been settled, can it be reopened?
Answer: If a plaintiff decides to settle the case, it cannot be reopened in the future if they decide that they weren’t compensated enough. Once a settlement is made, both parties sign an agreement in which the plaintiff forgoes any legal action in relation to the case. Once this agreement is signed, that is the end of the road for that case.
Question: Can a malpractice lawsuit be filed against another person besides a physician?
Answer: A medical malpractice lawsuit can be made by any health care professional that was negligent and incompetent while performing their job duties. Some professionals include anesthesiologists, physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, registered nurses, practical nurses, assistant nurses, and dentists, and much more. In the case of a medical malpractice case on a cruise ship, the cruise line can be held responsible for the errors made by their medical professionals on board.
Question: Do medical malpractice cases make it to trial?
Answer: The majority of medical malpractice cases never make it to trial. In fact, only 7% of all medical malpractice cases end with a trial, meaning 93% of cases end in a settlement.
Question: What level of proof is required in a civil lawsuit?
Answer: A medical malpractice lawsuit falls under a civil trial. It is a lawsuit that is meant to compensate the damaged party. The level of proof needed to be successful in a medical malpractice case is known as the ‘preponderance of the evidence”. The preponderance of the evidence means that there is proof showing how the defendant provided less than standard care and that the patient was injured because of that sub-standard care.
Question: Can I sue even if I wasn’t injured but the physician was negligent?
Answer: For a lawsuit to take shape, not only is a negligent party required, but the victim must have suffered a harm as a result of that negligence. If the doctor committed an error by prescribing the patient a wrong medication but was quick enough to realize his or her mistake, then the victim cannot claim for anything because they did not suffer any harms.
Question: I don’t have money to afford an attorney, what do I do?
Answer: An individual planning on filing a claim should not worry if they do not have any money to hire an attorney. For the most part, attorneys work on a contingency fee which means that they will only require pay if they are successful at winning the case. Make sure to analyze what fees the attorney will be charging because there are some attorneys that will charge expenses even though the case does not win.
Cruise Ship Miami Experienced Medical Malpractice Litigators
Medical malpractice is already a difficult personal injury subject to grasp, now that maritime law is tied with it, it makes it even more complex. A medical malpractice incident could take place on a cruise ship, especially knowing that medical facilities on cruise ships are not really properly equipped to handle severe incidents. Contacting a personal injury lawyer that deals with medical practice incidents does not suffice. You need a medical malpractice attorney that also has experience dealing with maritime personal injury cases. Percy Martinez Law Firm Miami medical malpractice cruise ship lawyers have knowledge about both scenarios. We know how to manage our cases and have a proven record. We don’t only think about the end, which is the compensation, we also consider the feelings and necessities of the victims. We are here to make what has been done to you paid for.
References:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
http://truecostofhealthcare.org/malpractice_statistics/
https://www.millerandzois.com/medical-malpractice-statistics.html
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-faq.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=cruise+ship+medical+malpractice&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj764fS4vzgAhVSIKwKHS3nCqQQ_AUIDygC&biw=1920&bih=966#imgrc=r44m3a4nH_Q5gM: – image
https://www.google.com/search?q=cruise+ship+medical+malpractice&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj764fS4vzgAhVSIKwKHS3nCqQQ_AUIDygC&biw=1920&bih=966#imgrc=ose6fPfhx8EpmM: – image
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligence
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0095/Sections/0095.11.html