Fall onboard.

[cruisepest]

A question for anyone who has fallen and was hurt on board. My wife fell and fractured her ribs the first day at sea in Princess live. We we getting in for morning trivia when she fell and she landed on the top of one of the chairs.  Matt the assistant CD came over and helped her up. The venue was poorly lit and the hand rail was loose. We reported it to guest services that night just to have it on record. She was in quite a bit of pain so we made a visit to the medical center the next morning. They took x rays, gave her a prescription for pain medicine and we very nice.  That is when ships security showed up. We filled out a statement, they met us at Princess live they took photos of the step and the venue and even my wife's shoes. (Sketchers). We  told him to review the tape of the fall and were told he could not do to privacy issues. From there it just went weird. We never heard anything back and had to go to guest services who never did anything. When the doctor read the X ray. We got another weird call from security as he had to file a report with the head office. We never heard a we are sorry once. Having the fractured ribs pretty much ruined our trip.

 

The main question is what should we do now?

 

[Sea Hag]

17 minutes ago, cruisepest said:

A question for anyone who has fallen and was hurt on board. My wife fell and fractured her ribs the first day at sea in Princess live. We we getting in for morning trivia when she fell and she landed on the top of one of the chairs.  Matt the assistant CD came over and helped her up. The venue was poorly lit and the hand rail was loose. We reported it to guest services that night just to have it on record. She was in quite a bit of pain so we made a visit to the medical center the next morning. They took x rays, gave her a prescription for pain medicine and we very nice.  That is when ships security showed up. We filled out a statement, they met us at Princess live they took photos of the step and the venue and even my wife's shoes. (Sketchers). We  told him to review the tape of the fall and were told he could not do to privacy issues. From there it just went weird. We never heard anything back and had to go to guest services who never did anything. When the doctor read the X ray. We got another weird call from security as he had to file a report with the head office. We never heard a we are sorry once. Having the fractured ribs pretty much ruined our trip.

 

The main question is what should we do now?

 

It looks to me like staff were totally focused on documenting everything in case of a law suit. What would you like to have happen? Apology? Compensation? Something else? 

[Outerdog]

19 minutes ago, cruisepest said:

The main question is what should we do now?

 

You should file a claim with your travel insurance to recoup the costs of the medical services.

[Arizona Wildcat]

20 minutes ago, cruisepest said:

A question for anyone who has fallen and was hurt on board. My wife fell and fractured her ribs the first day at sea in Princess live. We we getting in for morning trivia when she fell and she landed on the top of one of the chairs.  Matt the assistant CD came over and helped her up. The venue was poorly lit and the hand rail was loose. We reported it to guest services that night just to have it on record. She was in quite a bit of pain so we made a visit to the medical center the next morning. They took x rays, gave her a prescription for pain medicine and we very nice.  That is when ships security showed up. We filled out a statement, they met us at Princess live they took photos of the step and the venue and even my wife's shoes. (Sketchers). We  told him to review the tape of the fall and were told he could not do to privacy issues. From there it just went weird. We never heard anything back and had to go to guest services who never did anything. When the doctor read the X ray. We got another weird call from security as he had to file a report with the head office. We never heard a we are sorry once. Having the fractured ribs pretty much ruined our trip.

 

The main question is what should we do now?

 

Contact the head of the hotel if on still on board.   If not contact hq for Princess.

A heads up that if anything like this happens stay down exactly where you are and call for the doctor.

When you contact them state the facts clearly with what you would like them to do.  Hopefully you have a copy of the accident or security reports.

As Princess is not US based you need to work with them in a clear factual manner on the executive office level - not a phone rep.  

Edited March 24 by Arizona Wildcat

[memoak]

I have made many a trip to medical over the years and have always gotten reimbursed by my medical coverage once I got home just make sure you keep records. For those with Medicare review your coverage as some plans may not reimburse. I have a Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan and have always been able to get reimbursed

[startedwithamouse]

Did you take a video of the loose handrail, showing where it had some give?  They can repair it to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. 

 

Do you have copies of all paperwork you completed?

 

Accidents happen, file a claim with travel insurance. 

Edited March 25 by startedwithamouse

[mtnesterz]

27 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have a Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan and have always been able to get reimbursed

Thank you for posting this. That was my choice for Medicare and it is reassuring to read. 

Edited March 25 by mtnesterz

[arizonaperson]

@cruisepest

depends on what you want to do ,but there are maritime lawyers that will help you start a case ,if that’s what you would like to do. If you think Princess  was negligent, you’ve probably got a case. A friend lived in Arizona and they were on a Princess cruise that was cruising California coast and she had a claim with a California Martime lawyer, so…

Edited March 25 by arizonaperson

[memoak]

The poorly lit portion would have no chance of any lawsuit or else everyone who had tripped waking up stairs in a movie thatre coming back from the bathroom wood be rich. In my opinion most of the so called maritime lawyer are ambulance chasers just looking to make a buck

[cr8tiv1]

So many unanswered questions:

 

Do you have insurance? (Princess/secondary/independent)

Are you still on the ship?

Did you obtain a Medical History Record (not the same as Medical Center Visit Invoice)

Were you charged for the medical center visit or did Princess absorb this accident cost?

 

She might be reimbursed for trip interruption if the doctor requested that she remain in the cabin for a few days.

 

 

 

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

So many unanswered questions:

 

Do you have insurance? (Princess/secondary/independent)

Are you still on the ship?

Did you obtain a Medical History Record (not the same as Medical Center Visit Invoice)

Were you charged for the medical center visit or did Princess absorb this accident cost?

 

She might be reimbursed for trip interruption if the doctor requested that she remain in the cabin for a few days.

 

 

 

The treatment would not be free. I tipped and fell breaking 3 ribs. The next day had X-rays paid on my folio and got reimbursed. Travel insurance does not cover medical at least mine doesn’t   I was back at lunch same day broken ribs do not mean staying in cabin and even if it did it is not an interruption. I have been quarantined for Covid twice and you get room service for food and booze but you don’t get reimbursement you are still on a cruise

[cruisepest]

Thanks for all the responses.

 

We have pictures of where the fall took place, and a video of the loose rails and sections of the stair light strips that are out and dim. We have pictures later in the cruise with the lights now being super bright and all being replaced after the fall. We have a copy of the medical report and my wife's statement. We were denied a copy of the ship's accident report.

 

We have the Platinum insurance,

 

We just want an apology and some form on board credit.

[memoak]

13 minutes ago, cruisepest said:

Thanks for all the responses.

 

We have pictures of where the fall took place, and a video of the loose rails and sections of the stair light strips that are out and dim. We have pictures later in the cruise with the lights now being super bright and all being replaced after the fall. We have a copy of the medical report and my wife's statement. We were denied a copy of the ship's accident report.

 

We have the Platinum insurance,

 

We just want an apology and some form on board credit.

Ships insurance will not cover medical as far as I know

[arizonaperson]

46 minutes ago, cruisepest said:

Thanks for all the responses.

 

We have pictures of where the fall took place, and a video of the loose rails and sections of the stair light strips that are out and dim. We have pictures later in the cruise with the lights now being super bright and all being replaced after the fall. We have a copy of the medical report and my wife's statement. We were denied a copy of the ship's accident report.

 

We have the Platinum insurance,

 

We just want an apology and some form on board credit.

In my opinion you have a case,similar to my friend who was on Princess,but incident happened in theater. Similar -dim light before show started,etc. they definitely took an incident report, they definitely looked at her shoes, etc. etc. and she contacted a Maritime lawyer and was compensated ,so don’t discount a case.

She was hospitalized for several days to a week or so.(I don’t remember the specifics) once they got to port after a long sea day . She was on pain meds & in ship’s medical center until getting to hospital in CA. Port.

Good luck on the apology and on board credit, assuming you are still on board -it sounds. So I hope you receive both of those. That is good that you have pictures and videos.

Edited March 25 by arizonaperson

[cr8tiv1]

@memoak  I am not sure what insurance you have when you travel (no need to disclose).  I have Platinum Princess Vacation Protection/AON, Medicare, and a secondary.

 

Medicare denied (outside of US)

My secondary covered 100% medical visit (although AON said it would have covered whatever secondary didn't)

AON covered Medical Records costs.

 

I was also reimbursed for Covid isolation (2 days).  

 

47 minutes ago, memoak said:

The treatment would not be free. I tipped and fell breaking 3 ribs. The next day had X-rays paid on my folio and got reimbursed. Travel insurance does not cover medical at least mine doesn’t   I was back at lunch same day broken ribs do not mean staying in cabin and even if it did it is not an interruption. I have been quarantined for Covid twice and you get room service for food and booze but you don’t get reimbursement you are still on a cruise

 

[1emerald1]

Do not leave the ship without getting copies of your medical records and be sure to review them thoroughly for accuracy!  Good Luck!

[cruisepest]

Thanks again for all your help. 

 

We are off the ship.

We did get copies of the medical reports and her accident statement.

[NavyVeteran]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

The treatment would not be free. I tipped and fell breaking 3 ribs. The next day had X-rays paid on my folio and got reimbursed. Travel insurance does not cover medical at least mine doesn’t   I was back at lunch same day broken ribs do not mean staying in cabin and even if it did it is not an interruption. I have been quarantined for Covid twice and you get room service for food and booze but you don’t get reimbursement you are still on a cruise

I have Princess Vacation Protection, Medicare, and Tricare for Life. DW and I both got COVID. She stayed overnight in ship's infirmary and had over $3,000 in onboard medical expenses. I had no symptoms and had a little over $100 medical expenses. Princess Vacation Protection covered all of the medical expenses without requiring me to submit to Medicare or Tricare first. They knew Medicare did not provide coverage outside the US, so they did not require a denial. Since, according to US law, Tricare for Life is secondary to any other medical insurance - even secondary travel insurance, they did not require a denial from them either.

We were both in isolation in our cabin for three days of the 12-day cruise (1/4 of the cruise). Princess Vacation Protection reimbursed 1/4 of the cruise fare and port fees, even though we were still getting food and beverages delivered to our room.

[JordanF]

Sorry about the injury!  If Princess billed you for any of the medical costs, the first step is to get reimbursed by some sort of insurance (trip, Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage, group insurance, etc...).  Beyond that--a little speculation by me is that they will not want to engage you about compensation as it is probably already in some sort of claims area.  You could probably find a lawyer to look at your case.  Again--speculation, but I think the likelihood of recovery will have something to do with this question:  Did the loose handrail contribute to the fall? if it did, you may have a claim.  If not, it is likely more uphill for you.

[CSMissouri]

On our February cruise, I fell on the gangway (wet from previous rain showers) while leaving the ship (flat on my back).  Security was right there and he and an attendant both helped me up; I stood for a moment to make sure everything was in one piece and said "I think I'm ok"; Security asked for my cabin number 3 times; since I felt ok (mostly stunned) we went ahead on our tour and I ASSUMED (silly me) that someone would check in to see how I was. I didn't hear anything that day, waited through next day and still nothing.  Since I was starting to get a little stiff and sore, then decided to go to Guest Services IN CASE I got worse.  GS asked if I had filled out a form, I said no, that I ASSUMED it had been reported since Security requested my cabin number; GS informed me that that request was for the log, nothing more.  I completed the incident form and Security promptly arrived to talk with me, then sent someone to cabin to photograph the shoes I was wearing at the time.  Again ASSUMED I would hear from them after they investigated.  Waited until the next afternoon (day before leaving the ship), went back to GS and asked for a copy of the report; they called Security who stated they would leave copy in my cabin.  I ASSUMED it would be a summary of investigation, but all I received was a copy of the incident form I had completed.  I was fortunate that my stiff/sore back healed in about a week.  I had no medical expenses or lost time, but I did expect some sort of inquiry/concern about my health.  I included incident in my after cruise survey, still nothing.  Lessons learned:  if I think there could be a problem, file report asap and don't ASSUME anything.

[milolii]

15 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Thank you for posting this. That was my choice for Medicare and it is reassuring to read. 

I’m a retired employee.  I once authorized an air ambulance from Cabo back to the SF Bay Area. $ 55,000. That was several years ago.  
 

I’ve used the app to submit for reimbursement for Covid tests(in London) and medications. Very easy and check comes quickly.  Uploaded part of CC statement showing conversion from £ to $.  

Kaiser recommends carrying a small travel medical policy to show if needed at a foreign hospital; clinic, etc.  but will absolutely reimburse. 

Edited March 25 by milolii

[JGmf]

To the OP: that stinks and sorry that likely ruined your trip.

 

It makes me wonder out-loud, though, why I don't see more people taking tumbles on the ship, given the some of the ages of the passengers combined with wet decks, food drops in the buffet, crowds, and, yes, awkward ramps, stairs, lighting, tender boats, etc.

 

In my prior life, I was on the other end of this kind of thing in my profession, responsible for buildings and grounds.  A lot of people tried to blame us for the action of their two feet. 

 

Generally, as you probably know, it's really tough to claim negligence by an owner/operator as you'll need to establish they knew of the problem and didn't fix it and/or don't otherwise have an excellent record of care and maintenance.

[dickinson]

I am very surprised that you never received an apology and some other form of compensation... whether it be a little OBC or even a gift of some hors d'oevres delivered to your cabin or some flowers, or even a voucher to a casual restaurant or specialty restaurant.  Something.  If this was done in a timely fashion the OP would have felt a little better about Princess/and or the situation.  Something happened to me (not as serious) a few years ago on Carnival and I was shocked at how well I was treated afterwards.

[voljeep]

I got flowers 🌻after I PASSED OUT on the Regal a few years ago - Medicare supp paid all onboard charges ( except the $28 medical records fee ) ... AON paid the co-pays for my land after visits to ER and Cardiologist...

[Mary loves to travel]

the problem with issuing an apology is that legally it can amount to an admission of guilt, so businesses are instructed to *not* apologize.    A side effect of our litigious society.