Medical Center Malpractice

[Ocean Boy]

11 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

If you weren’t in such a hurry to burn me, you would have noticed that I stated “if the situation was reported accurately”.  As far as my neighbor, he was an attorney fo over 30 years and he has handled both felony and civil suits so I’m sure he knows all about libel, but apparently not as much as you.

Civil suits is a way for a person to get compensation for something that happened that didn’t warrant a felony charge. The big difference being a civil suit only needs, there is a better chance that person/company did it than beyond the shadow of doubt that the felony charge.

Just before the pandemic, I had the opportunity to be on a jury in a civil suit fo a malpractice/wrongful death suit. When we walked into the courtroom, the were two local lawyers for the plaintiff, and four big time attorneys for the hospital and doctor. You could tell they were hired guns by the way they were dressed.

On the third day, we were waiting to resume the trial after lunch, but we were still waiting an hour after the time we were supposed to start. The judge finally came and told us a settlement has been reached and thanked us for our service.

You know what brought on the settlement, it was the testimony of the expert witnesses. The defense expert explained it like he was talking to a room of professional medical people. The plaintiffs expert used the same xrays and notes but explained them like he was talking to us common folks. The xrays was the knock out punch. To the naked eye they were clean but with just a little enhancement the signs were clear as day, that’s the way they are supposed to be evaluated.

Chalk up one for David vs Goliath.

I didn't miss it the first time around.

[leaveitallbehind]

25 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

.....you would have noticed that I stated “if the situation was reported accurately”. 

The is IMO the crux of this entire thread.  We are only hearing a second hand anecdotal account of something that occurred with a third party, and only that side of the information is being presented without any collaboration.  On top of which the OP has determined with the thread's title a conclusive position regarding the liability for the events.  IMO this is just controversy to elicit responses akin to clickbait.  All of which may likely evaporate into thin air if the true documented facts were to be presented from all parties directly involved.  Including your speculative commentary regarding a hypothetical lawsuit.

Edited June 16 by leaveitallbehind

[swoopy2110]

3 hours ago, cello56 said:

Here is my first hand experience with RCI on board medical services. Two years ago I suddenly, and for the first time ever, went into Atrial Fibrillation. My heart rate was extremely high and we called the ship medical facility and were told to come down immediately. I had two doctors and two nurses taking care of me. The care I received was excellent. I was diagnosed, and treatment was initiated. They also placed a call to the RCI on call cardiologist in Miami for additional guidance. This is standard procedure for any patient presenting with serious conditions.

 

Interesting story. As a youngster (33) with AF I always wondered what the protocol would be on the ship. With a known diagnosis I wonder if things would be different though.

 

A few years ago I had an episode while in the Caribbean which I decided to ride out as I know that despite the high HR I've always converted back in 24 hours. Decided that if it went beyond 24 hours I'd go and see if they'd give me some blood thinners. It reverted as expected and I watched myself a bit better for the remainder of the holiday.

 

Thankfully I've been all good (touch wood) for over 5 years now after my 2nd ablation. Barely drink alcohol anymore and certainly not while someone out of the UK really.

[cruiselvr04]

Any time you have chest pain, labored breathing or active bleeding you need to be seen right away in medical.  Possible broken bones, bad falls or symptoms of a stroke also need immediate attention.  Severe abdominal pain is another. These are emergency room issues. For the most part I think the doctors and nurses on the ship are pretty good and quite possibly much safer than some Caribbean islands. However you have to know they are going to want to send you land based asap.  They don’t want you dying on the ship if they can help it.  
 

I’m more worried about being put off somewhere where the care is much worse.  
 

( I also take a BP monitor, thermometer and pulse ox. I do have the knowledge to interpret them).

[Thisguylikestocruise]

On 6/14/2024 at 9:34 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Not a cruise story, but I think it fits here...

 

Last year I was travelling for work.  When I got back to my hotel room, I started having chest pains.  Long story short, after a stop at urgent treatment, I got sent to the ER.  Obviously they did blood work.  Whatever test they had to do, you repeat 2(?) hours later and compare the results.  Whatever number they were looking to go down went UP.  I was admitted for them to do a heart cath.

 

Waited two days for the procedure.  Didn't find a thing.  I never thought "malpractice" of the urgent care doc (for sending me to the ER) or the ER doc (for admitting me).  They're making the best judgement they could with the information they had at the time. 

Sounds like you did the right thing. I’ve worked in an ER for many years and the STEMI heart attacks are obvious immediately on an EKG. The Non-STEMI heart attacks are more difficult to detect and require observation, repeat troponin blood tests, EKG’s to see if the trend is getting worse. If they determine a heart cath is necessary cardiology/interventional radiology now determine the next steps, their opinion could be different than the ER doctor. They have to keep in mind using resources wisely. Many hospitals don’t have cath labs to treat heart attacks. Healthcare resources in the U.S. are extremely limited, often there’s a lack of staff, rooms or equipment. It’s not always malpractice for people on the frontlines, lack of capacity is the fault of hospital executives, insurance executives and politicians…they have zero meaningful solutions to improve healthcare in the U.S. and the blame rests solely on them for not even trying. Sorry for the rant, but frontline staff often face the anger from people over wait times and we don’t have the ability to build larger hospitals or hire more staff. 

Edited June 16 by Thisguylikestocruise

[S.A.M.J.R.]

16 minutes ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

Sounds like you did the right thing. I’ve worked in an ER for many years and the STEMI heart attacks are obvious immediately on an EKG. The Non-STEMI heart attacks are more difficult to detect and require observation, repeat troponin blood tests, EKG’s to see if the trend is getting worse. If they determine a heart cath is necessary cardiology/interventional radiology now determine the next steps, their opinion could be different than the ER doctor. They have to keep in mind using resources wisely. Many hospitals don’t have cath labs to treat heart attacks. Healthcare resources in the U.S. are extremely limited, often there’s a lack of staff, rooms or equipment. It’s not always malpractice for people on the frontlines, lack of capacity is the fault of hospital executives, insurance executives and politicians…they have zero meaningful solutions to improve healthcare in the U.S. and the blame rests solely on them for not even trying. Sorry for the rant, but frontline staff often face the anger from people over wait times and we don’t have the ability to build larger hospitals or hire more staff. 

The tropinin levels, that's what it was.  I hope my post didn't come off as critical of the staff.  I was actually very impressed.  My ONLY complaint would be having to wait until Friday for the heart cath when I was admitted Weds night.  But I was discharged Fri afternoon, so can't complain too much. 🙂

[grandgeezer]

7 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I didn't miss it the first time around.

Then you just ignored at as it didn’t support your opinion on the subject.

[grandgeezer]

On 6/15/2024 at 4:16 PM, not-enough-cruising said:

According to the legal definition of medical malpractice, 4 things MUST be proven to have occurred. 

 (1) a professional duty owed to the patient; (2) breach of such duty; (3) injury caused by the breach; and (4) resulting damages. 

 

I would be very interested in what your neighbor would argue the injury incurred was. 
 

By the way, as a result of my profession, I am incredibly well versed in medical malpractice law, as well as contingency lawyers that are always trying to push the limits. In the last decade or so, malpractice insurance companies have, more and more regularly fought these types of suits and settle less and less. On a related note, I have professional colleagues who are currently y spending their retirement years traveling the globe with their spouses and working as ship physicians as well as medical staff at high end resorts the world over. I am very familiar with cruise line business, especially the medical clinics. 

 

They didn’t diagnose or treat the problem, and the person died, if that doesn’t qualify for malpractice, what about wrongful death? This isn’t meant for the entire profession it’s for the ones who don’t provide proper medical assistance.

[not-enough-cruising]

6 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

They didn’t diagnose or treat the problem, and the person died, if that doesn’t qualify for malpractice, what about wrongful death? This isn’t meant for the entire profession it’s for the ones who don’t provide proper medical assistance.

WTH are you talking about? 

The rest of us are talking about an individual on an Alaskan cruise, that was sent to a tertiary facility while in Ketchikan and was subsequently denied re-boarding. 

 

No one died 

[Ocean Boy]

17 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Then you just ignored at as it didn’t support your opinion on the subject.

Whatever you say.... apparently you are talking about someone who died.🤔🙄

[ck11140]

We had an odd experience the only time we ever went to the ship's medical facility. My husband had surgical treatment for early cancer about 1 year prior to our Caribbean cruise. He was followed up closely and routinely with no issues. Midway through the cruise one of his eyes ( and the area around it) swelled up significantly and was tearing constantly. I'm a nurse so we don't normally rush to the doctor but it kept getting worse so we decided to go. I wanted to make sure it wasn't pink eye and be contagious. The physician evaluated my husband, drew labs, started an IV and observed him for a few hours. Then he quietly sat us down in a room and said this... " I'm sorry to tell you but your husband has had his cancer metastasized to his eye. He needs to get off at the next stop (I think it was Barbados) and go immediately to the hospital and get a CT scan." After my heart sunk when he said the word cancer I took a deep breath and calmed down. We didn't get off and go to the hospital but 2 days later the swelling was gone.We saw our doctor upon arriving home who felt he had an allergic reaction. That was almost 10 years ago. I can laugh about it now but at the time it was scary. 

[cruiselvr04]

2 hours ago, ck11140 said:

We had an odd experience the only time we ever went to the ship's medical facility. My husband had surgical treatment for early cancer about 1 year prior to our Caribbean cruise. He was followed up closely and routinely with no issues. Midway through the cruise one of his eyes ( and the area around it) swelled up significantly and was tearing constantly. I'm a nurse so we don't normally rush to the doctor but it kept getting worse so we decided to go. I wanted to make sure it wasn't pink eye and be contagious. The physician evaluated my husband, drew labs, started an IV and observed him for a few hours. Then he quietly sat us down in a room and said this... " I'm sorry to tell you but your husband has had his cancer metastasized to his eye. He needs to get off at the next stop (I think it was Barbados) and go immediately to the hospital and get a CT scan." After my heart sunk when he said the word cancer I took a deep breath and calmed down. We didn't get off and go to the hospital but 2 days later the swelling was gone.We saw our doctor upon arriving home who felt he had an allergic reaction. That was almost 10 years ago. I can laugh about it now but at the time it was scary. 

Really?! Crazy story. I’m guessing this caused a lot of anxiety for the rest of the trip. Sorry he put you through that. 

[grandgeezer]

On 6/16/2024 at 5:41 PM, Ocean Boy said:

Whatever you say.... apparently you are talking about someone who died.🤔🙄

Yes they did, might not have happened, at least it might have prolonged the life if the doctor would have made the right diagnosis when he examined her. The emogis you added says a whole lot about the poster. If this would happen to someone you knew or loved you might have taken it a little more serious.

[Ocean Boy]

23 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Yes they did, might not have happened, at least it might have prolonged the life if the doctor would have made the right diagnosis when he examined her. The emogis you added says a whole lot about the poster. If this would happen to someone you knew or loved you might have taken it a little more serious.

In the subject of this thread we were not talking about someone who died. Apparently that didn't fit your needs so you just ignored it and injected your own story into this thread. Don't get annoyed when no one follows where you try to go.

[BND]

On 6/15/2024 at 7:00 AM, Cruise a holic said:

Since a US hospital, insurance should cover.  I would also suggest you speak to an attorney.  I had an incident on a ship.  I broke my foot- went to the medical center on board, the "physician"  x-rayed etc.  He said a sprain.  Gave me a wheel chair and wrapped the foot-  However when I got home, I went to my Dr.  The foot was broken.  I contacted the ship (celebrity) they had no record of me going to their Dr!  They also never charged me anything.  Not the best physicians IMO on the ships.

By the time you saw your Dr swelling would have gone down.  Swelling can and does interfere with x-rays. it's why a lot of the time if an x-ray is inconclusive for a break you will be sent for an MRI which they do not have onboard.

[Cruise a holic]

4 minutes ago, BND said:

By the time you saw your Dr swelling would have gone down.  Swelling can and does interfere with x-rays. it's why a lot of the time if an x-ray is inconclusive for a break you will be sent for an MRI which they do not have onboard.

I didn’t need an mri. Had routine x-ray when I got home and it was very evident that I had a metatarsal fracture 

[Ocean Boy]

3 minutes ago, BND said:

By the time you saw your Dr swelling would have gone down.  Swelling can and does interfere with x-rays. it's why a lot of the time if an x-ray is inconclusive for a break you will be sent for an MRI which they do not have onboard.

Also, sometimes a fracture line will not immediately show up on x-ray even without swelling. If another one is taken several days later after there is some bone resorption around the fracture line it will then be visible.

[BND]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

I didn’t need an mri. Had routine x-ray when I got home and it was very evident that I had a metatarsal fracture 

I did not say "always" that it needs an MRI, but i did say x-rays don't always show a break right away as Ocean Boy confirmed.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

I didn’t need an mri. Had routine x-ray when I got home and it was very evident that I had a metatarsal fracture 

A completely normal phenomenon

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Yes they did, might not have happened, at least it might have prolonged the life if the doctor would have made the right diagnosis when he examined her. The emogis you added says a whole lot about the poster. If this would happen to someone you knew or loved you might have taken it a little more serious.

Is anyone else partaking in your death conversation?  I can tell you, no one here has any clue what you are talking about.  There is/was NO DEATH in this thread.

[shandryl]

On 6/15/2024 at 5:06 AM, bouhunter said:

All this for "a fever"???

If it was during the COVID years Everyone is/was paranoid😷 😂

[pepele]

On a cruise years ago my son had his first ever asthma attack.  He was 6 years old and it was pretty scary for us. The ship doctor and nurse could not have been nicer or more attentive.  We had to keep returning for nebulizers and they always got him in and out quickly. The bill wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be either. The one thing I did not realize is that they don’t stock many meds for kids. He needed steroids and they only had pills.  That was a challenge but we did eventually get him

to swallow the pills which were thankfully very small.