Accident onboard

[tranquility]

Exactly. Thank you, mrgame101.

 

And, thanks CWcruisers, that is what I wanted to know.

[ommax2]

I went to the emergency room right before Christmas, and they never called to check up on me. Gee, never even occured to me a emergency doctor would call and follow up.

 

seems odd, since our er and hospital always call 24 hours later to check in...

[dan40]

We just got back two weeks ago from the Triumph. We had a blast. However, on the final morning, my husband fell down the stairs in the dining room. We requested medical check him out and he was taken to the nurse. Her assessment after just looking at him was that he would be bruised and sore but okay. When I requested a copy of the paperwork, just in case he required medical treatment when we got home, she had to clear it through security. She said she was sure he would be okay without further treatment. Security came and after many forms were completed, he was released with Ibuprophin (sp?) and we left the ship. We never had a thought of a lawsuit, although I am sure that is their fear, but we really thought we would at least get a call or e-mail checking on him after we got home. Has anyone else had an accident onboard and did they get any follow up? We love cruising but may try another line next time.

 

Are you aware that the infirmary aboard ships [ALL, not just Carnival] is an independently contracted business? So he was never Carnival's patient, he was a patient of the contract vendor. Since you did not mention it, I'm guessing there was not a charge. Had they done Xrays or called in the Doc to see him, they would have given you a bill, along with the paperwork. My guess is that a follow up call is almost never done by any of the contract doctors. When a local doc does a follow up phone call it is just as much good customer service designed to generate more business as it is concern.

The docs on ship know you won't be back for a follow up visit, so no courtesy phone calls. The medical business today is mostly business and then medical.

 

You could change cruise lines and be on a ship and have the same unseen doctor working a contract for that cruiseline. That would frost your pumpkin.

 

Dan

[BEEZALAR]

We just got back two weeks ago from the Triumph. We had a blast. However, on the final morning, my husband fell down the stairs in the dining room. We requested medical check him out and he was taken to the nurse. Her assessment after just looking at him was that he would be bruised and sore but okay. When I requested a copy of the paperwork, just in case he required medical treatment when we got home, she had to clear it through security. She said she was sure he would be okay without further treatment. Security came and after many forms were completed, he was released with Ibuprophin (sp?) and we left the ship. We never had a thought of a lawsuit, although I am sure that is their fear, but we really thought we would at least get a call or e-mail checking on him after we got home. Has anyone else had an accident onboard and did they get any follow up? We love cruising but may try another line next time.

 

I work in the hotel business and we are advised not to ask any further after a guest has had an accident .........it's kinda like saying "i'm sorry", makes the guest think that you believe you are someway responsible. Big no, no! In this day and age of lawsuites you have to be very careful what and how you say anything to guests,customers or clients. It's not that they are uncaring or being rude .......It's what the insurance companys advise.

[Burchrod]

I'm so sorry some of the responses to your question have been a little sarcastic or condescending.

If I understand the timeline of your story correctly, the nurse may not have meant she had to get security's permission to release the info; simply that security had to complete their report first.

When my mother-in-law fell on the Celebration last July security did a very in-depth report on exactly what happened, where, and any contributing factors.

Her elbow was broken and she ended up leaving the ship at our first port of call. Carnival did follow up with her both by phone and letter. They called her home shortly after she returned to make sure she made it OK and then again a few days later to see how her surgery went.

Just in the 1 1/2 hours we were in the infirmary there must have been 5 other patients seen. Spread that out over a 5-day cruise and they must have seen a ton of people.

I'm sure there is no way they would be able to follow-up with every minor injury, and, thank the Lord, your husband's injuries were relatively minor.

I'm glad your husband is OK and I hope you cruise again real soon!

[Chigirlcruzin]

seems odd, since our er and hospital always call 24 hours later to check in...

 

 

HIGHLY unusual. To me, it is odd that your ER would call to check in. I have several friends that are ER docs, and the ERs are WAY too busy to follow-up.

[newmexicoNita]

HIGHLY unusual. To me, it is odd that your ER would call to check in. I have several friends that are ER docs, and the ERs are WAY too busy to follow-up.

I can guarantee you ours normally don't check back either. Now, sometimes if you are hospitalized and then released after a few days, your doctor's office may call. I guess everywhere works differently.

 

NIta

[cmalibu1]

Whew, this seems to be a hot topic.

 

#1. Glad you had a great cruise, too bad about the slip, hope he is ok~ but believe me, I have seen a lot worse medical related accidents on cruises so consider yourself lucky!~!

 

#2. I honestly dont think they are worried about you birnging a lawsuit, which is why they didn't feel the need to call. Now if he went into anaphylactic shock due to a food allergy that he specifically asked to remain out of his food, then they might be in a pinch a little.

 

#3. If you want to give another line a try go right ahead! I think its kind of fun to try different lines and see how they all add up. Just dont do it thinking that you will get different service if he happens to stumble again...

[Wennfred]

 

I just wondered if other CC'ers might have experienced a similar problem and how it was handled.

 

 

Here you go:

Posted by Golf43

 

I just returned from the Carnival Sensation. I learned something that I thought I would share with all of you. We took an excursion booked through Carnival. I tripped over something and fell while on this excursion. I had to go to the ship's Infirmary. I saw a doctor, they took x-rays. Gave me 2 packets of Motrin and put a splint bandage on my hand. Since I was on a Carnival excursion, Carnival paid for all of it. If this happened with an excursion not associated with Carnival then I would have had to pay for it.

When I walked into the Infirmary the nurse said to me that the doctor fee to start off with would be $60.00. Then she asked if I was on a Carnival excursion. I said Yes. Then she said that Carnival would pay for all of it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=9706453&posted=1#post9706453

[Wennfred]

that is what I wanted to know.

 

How old is your hubby and is he in good health? Did he have something to drink during dinner that night? I see alot of people taking a bad spill over by the pool deck while wearing those flip flops with no traction. Once an older lady didn't get up and security was called immediately to assist her.

 

The last thing on my mine is to sue anyone, what I would be thinking, how many people saw me fall LOL, I would be more embarrassed about the whole thing then to worry about suing someone.

 

Glad your hubby came out with only a few bumps and bruises.

 

 

 

Fred

[pe4all]

Truthfully, I am surprised there wasn't any kind of "discharge papers" given to you by the nurse. I know everything at hospitals/doctors's offices are written in triplicate. Giving you the "bottom copy" or a photocopy of the treatment just seems like a normal thing to do. Glad dh is okay - I'm sure it was a scary situation.

[GamerMom64]

Here you go:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=9706453&posted=1#post9706453

 

Hi Fred, just wanted to let you know that I like your "Here You Go's" I find that if I am searching the boards, you have the answers and/or pics that I am looking for. So thanks! :D

[LynneL]

I think I'm going to try a new job because I fell out of my chair reading this and no one called me to see if I was okay.

 

Might have to find a new job anyway if they track your on-line activity & see you're viewing CC at work (unless you work for the cruise/travel industry & can justify it as work related). Not only are they able to view our e-mails & on-line activity where I work but they also have cameras mounted in the ceilings throughout my bldg. You never know when Big Brother is watching & tracking you...and that goes for big companies as well as small thanks to cheap security monitoring devices available to hook into laptops & internet.

[Chacooe]

I have been talking with someone who was on a Carnival Cruise and someone from behind her punched an elbow into her shoulder and dislocated it. She got the money from the insurance and 4 (FOUR) free cruise vouchers from Carnival over it. I am surprised that no one has called you, maybe the nurse did not report it to corporate.

[LuvBNatC]

I once hurt my knee while dancing on a ship, totally my doing. The next day, I went to the ship's doctor to get an Ace knee brace, and mentioned that this had happened to me before, but I'd neglected to pack my brace from home.

 

The doctor turned to the nurse and said, "Make sure you note on her chart that she's had this injury before."

 

I thought that was odd and mentioned it to one of the officers. He said, "The doctor was just being careful in case you decide to sue."

 

The thought had never entered my head, but this officer went on to tell me that they get sued constantly by people for a million reasons, and most of the cases get thrown out as being frivolous.

[Chacooe]

HIGHLY unusual. To me, it is odd that your ER would call to check in. I have several friends that are ER docs, and the ERs are WAY too busy to follow-up.

 

ALL ER's are required by law to call within 24 hours of patients being seen to make sure that they have not gotten worse. I know about this because that was my job for over 15 years. It is not the doc's to call but one RN and that is her job alone. She gets the charts from the day before and is suppose to call every patient. So if your hospital is not doing it, I would find out why.

[kwag222]

To the OP:

 

Glad the DH is okay, however, your comment about trying another cruiseline is a bit silly considering all cruise ships have stairs.

[G'ma]

I don't know why you would expect a "follow-up" for an incident where there was no serious injury.

 

I sprained an ankle coming down the stairs on the Fascination about 4 years ago. Doctor wrapped it up, gave me some written instructions and sent me on my way. No need for followup. The doctor is not my father and I am an adult....so don't expect hand-holding. It was a minor accident with a minor ankle injury.

 

The trip insurance reimbursed me for the cost.....

[marktac]

Why would you say that you will try another line next time? I don't think another line would do anything different.

 

Maybe they heard that NCL or RCCL didn't have any stairs! :)

[marktac]

We just got back two weeks ago from the Triumph. We had a blast. However, on the final morning, my husband fell down the stairs in the dining room. We requested medical check him out and he was taken to the nurse. Her assessment after just looking at him was that he would be bruised and sore but okay. When I requested a copy of the paperwork, just in case he required medical treatment when we got home, she had to clear it through security. She said she was sure he would be okay without further treatment. Security came and after many forms were completed, he was released with Ibuprophin (sp?) and we left the ship. We never had a thought of a lawsuit, although I am sure that is their fear, but we really thought we would at least get a call or e-mail checking on him after we got home. Has anyone else had an accident onboard and did they get any follow up? We love cruising but may try another line next time.

 

In defense of both the OP and Carnival, if you have ever had an accident at work or at a public place, even if you weren't seriously injured, there is a ton of paperwork that must be filled out for seemingly everybody and their brother. Sure, Carnival is concerned about lawsuits....we live in a sue-happy society. But, they also have to document the event for their own safety people, just in case they feel they could make something better to keep it from happening again. As hard as people try to make things perfect, there is always room for improvement.

 

As to the follow-up, it's only been 2 weeks. The paper is still swirling around on its way to whomever is tasked to figure out what happened in some windowless office in Miami. Give it time...I bet you get a letter.

 

Glad the OP had the mindset not to sue for what was probably a simple accident. That kind of stuff is what is driving up prices all over because everyone has to protect themselves.

[Wennfred]

Hi Fred, just wanted to let you know that I like your "Here You Go's" I find that if I am searching the boards, you have the answers and/or pics that I am looking for. So thanks! :D

 

Thanks! You made my day.

 

 

 

Fred :)

[sixy-six]

The op said she didn't consider a suit.

 

Why would Carnival fear a suit? Because people sue all the time!

 

Why doesn't Carnival call to check up? It could be percieved as admitting liability and fault.

 

Get travel insurance and hope for the best.

Was thinking the same thing. People would be suprised at how many BS law sutes get filed everyday.

[firefly333]

ALL ER's are required by law to call within 24 hours of patients being seen to make sure that they have not gotten worse. I know about this because that was my job for over 15 years. It is not the doc's to call but one RN and that is her job alone. She gets the charts from the day before and is suppose to call every patient. So if your hospital is not doing it, I would find out why.

 

I can promise you mine didnt call. They did bill me $4,000 approx for two IVs for pain, xrays and then the doctors bill and the ambulance to drive me 1/2 mile. They were also rude and I have since heard never let them take you to that hospital. I complained about the doctor's bill and the people who deal with complaints could care less. Wrong treatment and I didnt want IVs for pain, asked for a pill and was told either you take this or nothing among the things said to me. Call me??? Are you kidding .... and I had a badly broken shoulden bone.

 

My Dad has gone to emergency multiple times and no one every called our house and it was a different hospital. I really dont think its standard procedure to call if someone went to ER. Everyone in my family plus at least 4 times for my dad in the last year and not one call.

[trock]

I Think Ron is right on...

 

OP -You have only been back two weeks.. I would not be surprised if Carnival followed via a letter... But its only two weeks I would not expect it but its still too soon.

 

I received a call from Guest Relations about a month ago as a follow up to our Miracle cruise.. In '07 we sailed Victory and had a really crappy cruise.. We wrote to GR... They were very attentive and gave us a nice discount to sail the Miracle. They followed up about a month ago and wanted to know if we enjoyed it etc etc.. (We did -it was one of our favorite cruises)... Point is.. they followed up.. about 2-3 months after the cruise.. They -GR were fantastic... Write a letter.. but they were definitely worried about a law suit...

[Wennfred]

I Think Ron is right on...

 

OP -You have only been back two weeks.. I would not be surprised if Carnival followed via a letter... But its only two weeks I would not expect but its still too soon.

 

 

I think that you are more likely to receive a follow-up letter if the Purser was involve with the case.

 

 

Fred