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Widow launches suit against cruise line
Her husband died a few hours after the couple had been put ashore north of Acapulco, Mexico
Maurice Bridge
April 19, 2006

It was a nightmare.

Put ashore in the middle of the night from a luxury cruise ship off the Mexican coast, surrounded by people whose language she could not understand, Dorothy Jones of Chilliwack watched helplessly as her husband's life slipped away.

Now, one year later, she has launched a legal attack against Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Lines and two of its doctors, seeking damages in excess of $20 million US for the wrongful death of Don Jones, a 65-year-old retired BC Transit operations supervisor.

The full story at: The Vancouver Sun - Widow launches suit against cruise line

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Ships Doctors make to many assumptions these days about conditions rather than performing a proper examination.

From what I have heard about these types of problems all Doctors need do is physically feel around someones stomach and even listen with their stephaschope to realise something is not right.

I think it is wrong that the ships Doctors just dismissed her and told her to look after him when she made the first complaint. They should have at least checked him out.

As for this case, I have no idea what really happened. We obviously only know the worse side of the case and I wonder why it took a year before launching a legal claim. I wonder what the autopsy showed.. it may have been something he would have died of wherever he had been, then again maybe not.. whatever I expect the wife felt somewhat 'lost' and confused at the time.

IME of Insurance Companies though, they are the ones who tell you where to go and what to do and which hospital one should be in etc... where possible. It says she spoke to her insurers, so I am also thinking that they agreed to this course of action of being put ashore rather than staying aboard? If he had died aboard and no attempt had been previously made to get him ashore to any hospital, no doubt negligence would have been claimed.. a no win situation.

With only half the story we don't know.. the other half will probably never be made known to the public.

I was not able to go some steps, to reach Cabins Telephone, i was sitting at my Cabins Table.

It was very dangerous.

So i wrote on an piece of Paper the News for the Pursers Desk: "Asthma Attack, get no Air, need Help".

My Wife took the Paper and run to the Pursers Desk.

First an Indian Employee who was working at the Desk appears, looking for me.

In an short Time after her, the Chief Doctor Stanislaw Panfilow appears, ordering to bring me immediately to the Hospital.

Then the Cabin Steward appears with an Wheelchair and brings me down (running)

In the Hospital the second Doctor was waiting.

He told me, that the Treatment is under US Tarifs and would be an "little expensive".

They filled the Contract and i do underwrite it.

After this, they start Treatment with Oxygen and Cortisone.

It was no Problem for me with the Costs, because i am an Private Patient with an Insurance, which is World wide good for all Costs.

Normal German Sick Insurance would not pay for this, they would only refund you the Money, if you show them the Invoice, which they have to pay in Germany for Social Insurance Tarifs.

Doctors in Germany get an very good Money from their Private Patients, which are about 10 % of the Population, from the Rest of 90 % of the Population, they get the Tarifs of the Social Insurance which are low.

But it was as follows:

1. They appear in an very short Time, first the Indian Girl from the Pursers Desk, than the Chief Doctor, than the Cabin Steward.

2. They bring me fast down to the Hospital

3. In the Hospital they have Time to make the Contract, meanwhile my Colour in the Face, on the Lips and Fingers change to blue, as my Wife told me later.

4. I underwrote Contract.

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Originally posted by Sutho:
Lastly they should never have landed him off the ship the way they did. Even though he may not have been alive by the time the ship reached Acapulco a good 9 hours later, at least he would have had a better chance in the ships hospital than primitive 3rd world conditions off the beaten track in Mexico.

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Originally posted by PamM:
Lasuvidaboy the exact same things happen to non-US citizens in the US.

Pam

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If it were up to me and I was in his place I would have chosen to remain on the ship regardless. There are means of getting blood to a ship just as easy as getting a patient to blood.