Suing Carnival

[voyagerfl]

[quote name='midgetpdp']I am thinking they took the blood and urine samples to rule out other diagnoses -- like urinary tract infection (moving up to the kidneys) or pancreatitis. There is not a lab test that will diagnosis appendicitis. You might be able to diagnosis an appendicitis with an ultrasound, but I'm not sure. I doubt a ship's medical center would have an ultrasound, anyway.[/QUOTE]

[size=3]I thought the Blood test was for infection.......high white cell count.[/size]

[derf5585]

I have done some research and have found that the first lawsuit against a cruise line was filed against Noah's Arc.

The passenger claimed bad navigation since the cruise ended up on top of a mountain.

[eeyore81]

I find this post funny because I am a law student and I have my Healthcare Torts final exam tomorrow. The entire class is about holding people responsible, whether it be the doctor, the hospital, the manufactuer of the medicine or product. It all comes down to vicarious liability--- that doctor was an employee of Carnival and Carnival is responsible for the actions of all of its employees. That is basic agency law. It works that way for everything, not just cruise ships and not just med mal. Even if the doctor was an independant contractor and not an "employee" per se, the trend is still to hold the company liable. Anyway, Carnival's insurance company will end up paying for it. We have med mal caps in our state because we have problems keeping doctors (insurance rates too high). It is an issue that has to be balanced-- compensating patients for injuries vs. keeping doctors and healthcare accessible.

[ken56]

everyone hates the "greedy" lawyers until they NEED one themselves. the poor man who was run over by the truck is a good example....thru no fault of his own his and HIS FAMILIES lives are forever altered. be it negligence or carelessness on anothers part its plain WRONG to LIMIT what ever they can recover. I think thats the beauty of our system really.....that we can sue anyone for any thing......just prove your case. no where else in the world can you do this. does that make our system "broken" ? ..that makes America special..... our freedoms....our uniqueness. is it abused ? sure it is. thats why when we are on a jury we need to use our brains here. think for ourselves and weed out the B.S. no good can come from these "changes" in tort law. I say DOWN WITH LIMITS ! hold people accountable for their actions....even if its OURSELVES.

[derf5585]

[quote name='ken56']everyone hates the "greedy" lawyers until they NEED one themselves. [/QUOTE]

Any Greedy lawyers care to defend themseves

I can just see the add
Come to us the "Greedy Lawyers"

[Ship Addict]

[quote name='voyagerfl'][size=3]I thought the Blood test was for infection.......high white cell count.[/size][/QUOTE]

Well, the high white blood cell count could possibly indicate an appendicitis, but does not definitely make the diagnosis. A high white blood cell count can mean an infection in many different parts of the body -- not just in the appendix. It doesn't rule in appendicitis, but doesn't rule it out either.

[halos]

[quote name='ken56']everyone hates the "greedy" lawyers until they NEED one themselves. .[/QUOTE]


Yeah...well, if you need one for a legitimate case, and you want what's fair and reasonable and not some astronomical windfall, they can't be bothered with your case. :mad:
Don't get me started on this.
The greedy lawyers only want greedy clients. They have no desire for justice, they have desire only for money. God forbid you call them and spend 5 minutes with them on the phone...2.5 minutes of which you're on hold. You get billed for it.

[jgmpuma]

Greedy lawyer here. I think the point being missed is that the ruling allows Carnival to be sued. It doesn't mean that the plaintiff will win. Whether or not malprictice was committed will be decided by a judge or a jury.

Carnival claimed that the doctor was an independent contractor rather than a Carnival employee, and, legally, they are not liable for his acts. Without reading the complete ruling of the appeal court, it sounds like their ruling was based on the fact that the doctor in question was the only choice available to the girl. If she had been at home, her parents could have taken her to the family physician, or anyone else.

By the way, I intend to send Halos a bill for the time involved in posting this message.

[bphman]

What you have to realize here is that, although you can sue for anything in this country, the plaintiff and his attorney are never held accountable when they lose a case. The poor defendant wins his case but is out a ton of money with no recourse. He can't countersue because it is impossible to prove malice. Despite statutes that punish attorneys who bring frivolous cases, they are NEVER enforced. The only fair system is a "loser pay" system. It works in every other country. And don't give me that nonsense that the poor man is denied his day in court. If that is the sentiment, then let the plaintiff's attorney be accountable for defense costs if he loses. Contingency fees are a big part of the problem. I would like to see what would happen if a doctor who cured a cancer or saved someone's life tell his patient that he has to give him a third of his income. You only have to turn on the TV soaps and see how many negligence attorneys are out there with "800" phone numbers.

[halos]

[quote name='jgmpuma']By the way, I intend to send Halos a bill for the time involved in posting this message.[/QUOTE]

If the day should ever come (and I hope it doesn't) that I need a lawyer, and I am able to find one that is truly out for my best interests and NOT his pocket, I will happily and swiftly retract my statement.

Until then, don't hold your breath.

[derf5585]

[quote name='halos']I am able to find one that is truly out for my best interests and NOT his pocket, [/QUOTE]

How is this done?

[BND]

Who do you think pays for the settlements and awards? It gets passed onto all of us so we should have a little more interest in frivolous lawsuits as well as legitimate ones. Everytime an insurance company pays out, the cost is passed onto everyone who has a policy. Whenever a company, like Carnival settles, it's not them settling out of their pockets, it's usually the lawyers settling for them and the insurance company and believe me the it's not coming out of the bank accounts of the CEO or anyone directcly involved. We all pay for it. Just like anything else, just because you can sue doesn't mean you always should. There are instances of true negligence, but those are really in the minority. People sue over the whackiest things. If I find a bug in my meal at a restaurant, I will take an apology and a free meal and not sue, but there are plenty of people who do thinking they're "entitled". Eating bugs is actually not going to hurt you. Just like people who sue because they slip and fall somewhere (with no real injury) or sue multiple times like the woman who swore she found a finger in Wendy's Chili. It's a profession for some and they cause the most damage. Most suits never make it to court and lawyers know that just filing a suit is enough a lot of the time go get a company to settle just to avoid the bad publicity. The problem with trying to reform this situation is all the "victims" and "victims advocates" out there that will have hissy fits over their "rights" being affected. It's gotten way out of hand.

[derf5585]

[quote name='BND']Who do you think pays for the settlements and awards? It gets passed onto all of us so we should have a little more interest in frivolous lawsuits as well as legitimate ones. Everytime an insurance company pays out, the cost is passed onto everyone who has a policy. Whenever a company, like Carnival settles, it's not them settling out of their pockets, it's usually the lawyers settling for them and the insurance company and believe me the it's not coming out of the bank accounts of the CEO or anyone directcly involved. We all pay for it. Just like anything else, just because you can sue doesn't mean you always should. There are instances of true negligence, but those are really in the minority. People sue over the whackiest things. If I find a bug in my meal at a restaurant, I will take an apology and a free meal and not sue, but there are plenty of people who do thinking they're "entitled". Eating bugs is actually not going to hurt you. Just like people who sue because they slip and fall somewhere (with no real injury) or sue multiple times like the woman who swore she found a finger in Wendy's Chili. It's a profession for some and they cause the most damage. Most suits never make it to court and lawyers know that just filing a suit is enough a lot of the time go get a company to settle just to avoid the bad publicity. The problem with trying to reform this situation is all the "victims" and "victims advocates" out there that will have hissy fits over their "rights" being affected. It's gotten way out of hand.[/QUOTE]

What is the solution?

[BND]

Who knows what the solution is? Society has created this victim mentality. We always taught our kids personal responsibility , the way we were taught, which if everyone felt that way it would make a big impact. But, I've seen people who feel "entitled" blame others for everything that happens in their lives. I've heard of people suing over something they totally chose to do that was dangerous, after signing a disclaimer, and were injured due to their own stupid behavior. What do you do with that mentality? Like the person who stands on the seat of a bicycle while riding, falls off, breaks his leg and sues the manufacturer because there was no warning label saying don't stand on the seat. There are a ton of stupid lawsuits out there that have small and large payouts. Some of the disclaimers on products are so rdiculous. For all those without common sense, I think they get what they deserve.

[derf5585]

[quote name='BND'] For all those without common sense, [/QUOTE]

Common Sense
from
[url]http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/volcommo.html[/url]

Myth: Scientists lack common sense.
from
[url]http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-commonsense.htm[/url]

[LegalCat]

[quote name='gwe21']I think that there are too many frivilous lawsuits out there. There has to be some type of control over it. Before too long doctors will be afraid to practice medicine at all.[/QUOTE]


I agree... a couple of years ago I slipped and broke my foot, ended up spending 3 months in a wheelchair... every one tried to convince me to sue the gas station that I was at when it happened or the city because it happened when I stepped up on a curb, but it was simply a case of wearing the wrong kind of shoes and stepping up carelessly onto a wet sidewalk... 100% my fault... I thought it was comical how many people asked me when I was going to sue and how many lawyers (I work in law) actually offered to represent me, lol.... it is sad..

It hurts the people who have been legitimately damaged by actual negligence or malpractice...

[LegalCat]

[quote name='derf5585']What is the solution?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately the only solution probably will never happen, people have to get over their entitlement and start having responsibility for their own actions. Im the same as the other poster, if I found a bug in my food I would want a good apology and maybe a gift certificate to come in another time for a free dinner... It wouldnt even occur to me to sue... If i decided to mix the food in my blender using my finger while the blender was on and cut my finger off... I wouldnt sue.. lol... I think they do actually already have a warning label for that anyway.. but I mean... we all have to be responsible for our own actions... so many people just want to blame others or get free money or feel entitled to some thing... and its usually not the case...

[derf5585]

[quote name='LegalCat']cut my finger off... [/QUOTE]

Oh, that was your finger in the chili.

[LegalCat]

Hahaha yeah that was my finger in the chili... I'm going to sue that woman for biting it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet I win a zillion dollars too! While I'm at it I will sue Wendy's cuz the chili was hot (god forbid we should eat HOT food at a restaurant).... and hmm maybe I will sue them cuz she had to wait an extra 60 seconds to get her food and it went past their 45 second service guarantee... and hmmm maybe I will sue cuz... welll... anyway... its ok, that free frosty will make it all better

[Cruising89143]

Two weeks ago I was called for jury duty here in Atlanta. The case involved someone that was rear ended six years ago and eleven days prior to that accident they had been involved in another car accident. They were suing this young lady for rear ending them.

When the jury was being picked one attorney asked if anyone had something against law suits. I raised my hand and stated that I found many law suits to be frivolous. I did state that it may not be this may not be the case in which the jury was being picked but it was in the back of my mind. Needless to say I was not picked to sit on this case.

[MSSQRL]

[quote name='GoinCruisin']Halos, I have one for ya! I had surgery in 1994, about 5 months later I started having HORRIBLE pain in my stomach... well, of course they said "it could be an appendicitis"... um, no... don't have an appendix... so after plenty of doctors guessing, they just went in... someone had left a CLAMP INSIDE me during my last surgery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It never even entered my mind to sue!!!! I guess we are all different... I was just so happy they found what it was and I was out of pain!!! Wow, to think, if I had the "sue happy" mentality, I could be off in the caribbean somewhere now :D[/QUOTE]

GoinCruisin, You are to be commended. If more people had that kind of integrity we wouldn't be paying a fortune everytime we go to the doctor. If ever a lawsuit was justified, it was in your case. And yet, you were so grateful to be well, compensation never entered your mind.

A few years ago, I was having some nerve block injections put into my back. I'm not a terribly heavy person and the doctor went a little too deep and punctured my lung. I had to spend several days in the hospital because of a collapsed lung. I was absolutely appalled at the number of people who said if it were them they would sue. I knew it was a possibility. I signed papers saying the risks had been explained to me. Why should I sue a doctor when I knew what the risks were and was willing to take them? Most people have the word "SUE" etched in their brain and are always looking for the opportunity to make a quick buck.

This was nothing compared to what you went through. So let me say again, YOU ARE TO BE COMMENDED. You must be an awesome person.

[gwe21]

[quote name='LegalCat']Hahaha yeah that was my finger in the chili... I'm going to sue that woman for biting it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet I win a zillion dollars too! While I'm at it I will sue Wendy's cuz the chili was hot (god forbid we should eat HOT food at a restaurant).... and hmm maybe I will sue them cuz she had to wait an extra 60 seconds to get her food and it went past their 45 second service guarantee... and hmmm maybe I will sue cuz... welll... anyway... its ok, that free frosty will make it all better[/QUOTE]


Wonder if Wendy's will sue the lady for defamation of character now??! Nice happy little lawsuits going around!

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='gwe21']Wonder if Wendy's will sue the lady for defamation of character now??! Nice happy little lawsuits going around![/QUOTE]

No she should not be sued(more than likely she does not have a penny to her name) but if the courts do their job, her butt should be doing some time for quite a while. Someone needs to set an example to keep others from trying the same thing.

[gwe21]

[quote name='cruisingator2']No she should not be sued(more than likely she does not have a penny to her name) but if the courts do their job, her butt should be doing some time for quite a while. Someone needs to set an example to keep others from trying the same thing.[/QUOTE]


i second that!! What is the old saying "what goes around comes around". She had a history of lawsuits so hoping she finally gets her day in court!! literally....

[MSSQRL]

Of course, if she goes to prison she'll find something to sue the prison for. And, in there, she'll probably get her law degree so she can not only represent herself but figure out other things to sue for. She should have to work so hard in jail that a regular 40hr a week job would seem like a vacation. Maybe next time she would think twice.