Would you sue?

[Cruising89143]

Those are not very large settlements. Could it be that these individuals just recouped medical expenses? If someone falls on my property wouldn’t I have to pay for their medical care?

 

Would I try and profit off a fall on a slippery floor if there was no negligence? No. Would I expect my onboard medical treatment to be covered? Yes.

 

This is my feeling also.

[pcur]

I DID injure myself by slipping and falling on a cruise ship's deck. It was Costa, and the decks were hardwood.

 

It didn't even dawn on me to sue: it was my fault for not being more careful, and my sandals weren't good for the slippery deck.

 

I had a sprained ankle. We packed it in ice, got an ace bandage from the doc, and off we went after a day of resting up.

[newmexicoNita]

Large settlement or not, sueing has gotten so out of hand. Would I sue? I did vote maybe but I can't imagine a situation where I would. There are rare times when I think law suits are completely justified. I can think of a few times we could have if we wanted to, but accidents do happen.

 

I could see sueing more for racial, health, or age discrimination if the facts are clear beyond a doubt. An injury and I don't mean the drunk driver that hits someone (that's different) I mean a slipping and falling or running into a chair that could have been pushed in. those are the types of law suits that just blow my mind.

 

Nita

[happysinglemom]

Years ago I slipped on a dollop of grease on a floor in a restaurant and went down hard on my ankle. I heard the *snap* loud and clear. Amazingly I had to threaten to call a lawyer to get my medical bills paid (I was out of town at the time and my insurance was not great), but eventually, they reimbursed me. They did not pay for anything else, though I had lost work time and even had to borrow my parents car to drive (I had a stick and could not drive mine). Could I have sued? Sure, but I'm just not the "suer" type. Now if they had refused to pay, then yeah I'd would have called a lawyer. It's not something I would want to do though...just not me.

[Mark_K]

Stating the dollar amounts of confidential settlements - doesn't sound ike a lawyer, I'd want representing me or one I would believe in regards to the amounts.

[polodad]

On our last cruise in May just coming off AOS we stayed at a 5 star hotel in San Juan, El Convento. The future Mrs. Polo was exiting the pool & slipped on the wet ceramic tile & broke a toe. We "settled" for early for early boarding on our American flights the next day.

 

On that cruise we met a guy who had a huge bandage on his finger. apparently he was entering his inlaws cabin and they had the balcony door open. A freak gust of wind came in, blew the closet door, caught his finger and he took 3 or more stiches from the ships doctor. It was first day of the cruise and knocked him out of all water activities and severely effected his blackjack game in the casino!

[dachshunddoglover]

I think our society has gotten way too "sue crazy" but there are some ligitimate cases. The problem with real cases is - Does the victim have enough money to afford the litigation against the giant cruise industry? Just recently on this board was a story about a young girl with abdominal pain on a trip that was mis-diagnosed by the ships doctor. The family flew home early and she indeed had a ruptured appendix and somehow (I don't know the exact story) was rendered unable to have children in the future because of the misdiagnosis and time it took to get to surgery. The family has been in litigation with Carnival for 10 years with it finally going to the State Supreme court. I'm sure that family has paid $20,000 - 40,000. minimum in legal fee's. It's a tricky question. I would not sue unless it was gross negligence where an injury occured and the cruise line did not take care of the medical exspenses. Sometimes I think justice is only for the victims who can afford a good attorney. E-Beth

 

On a positive note -

Recently our son had a horrible experience at a major hospital. I won't go into the details. He was in the hospital 8 days with a bill over $40,000. I wrote them a long letter about all the problems experienced and begged them to do "The Right Thing!!". Guess what - they wrote me a letter and actually said they were sorry and took what insurance paid as full payment. I got down on my knees and thanked God above for what happened. I never would have believed it, but there are large companies that can and will do "the right thing". Thank you Scottish Rite Hospital.

[CruisinRoxy]

But as reported, this does not seem to be Disney's negligence. In this case, you violated safety rules which specifically state that you will not stand up or attempt to walk on a moving bus. This was not negligence by Disney, but an accident. Your standing up removes them from responsibility. A court is unlikely to award you damages or reparations in these circumstances.

 

Had you been properly sitting down and the same thing happened, you are more likely to have a case for damages.

Yes, exactly, and that's why I would never have sued because I knew it was my own darn fault! ( but I could have tried)

[CruisinRoxy]

Sounds like something I would do! I would have been so mortified - to be laying across the floor of the bus - that I would have done anything to forget the incident. :D

 

Even if you had been sitting, the possibility that you could have flown out of your seat was still there because there are no seat-belts. I remember having a hard time staying in my seat when I was on those Disney buses.

Thanks! Now I don't feel so bad for doing something stupid and yes, there are no seat belts - I forgot about that small detail.

[crock921]

i fall down all the time. I blame no one but myself.

 

can I sue God if I slip on ice?

[Whistlespitter]

My wife ad I were on an Alaska cruise on the Saphire Princess. We had spent the morning in Skagway, visiting the shops in town. We returned to the ship for lunch. There had been just a touch of rain while we were ashore. We decided to go to the buffet, which was on the same deck as the pool. As we walked by the pool, just turning the corner in front of the pool bar, she slipped on the wet surface and twisted her knee and fell. (I had noticed many times how slick the floor is around the pool area and wondered why they didn't have a non-skid surface.) The people working around the pool were quick to help and showed great concern. One of them quickly, placed a wet floor sign right by her! The medical team arrived and the first thing the nurse did was advise us that we would have to pay for any services or treatments they provided. I don't remember if we agreed to pay but we at least acknowledged the statement. My wife already had arthritic knees and the ligament strain from the fall pretty much ruined the rest of our cruise. She spent the rest of the trip in a wheel chair. The trip home was hell as the Seattle Airport is not a good place to be when you had to push a wheelchair and haul luggage at the same time. The flight was difficult for someone who couldn't bend her knee. Making the connecting flight in Minneapolis was a treat, too. We fortunately, were able to find airport personnel to push the chair and, I might add, getting off the ship was a breeze as a princess employee bushed her right by the rest of the line and down the ramp!

 

The bottom line is that the floor should have been safe, wet or not. Our vacation was ruined and my wife in pain. We considered legal action but it would have been difficult and far from a certain judgement. We were able to convince the medical staff not to bill us.

 

One thing I forgot to mention is that after the accident and after we left the medical center, we tried for rest of the druise to get someone from the loss prevention staff to speak with us, with no success.

 

When we got home, we told the folks on the cc princess board about the incident. We got fried by the trolls and received little sympathy from the others. They were sure we were gold diggers and that it was my wife's fault that she fell. We haven't been on Princess since but I'm sure we will return. We would have felt better if they had been willing to speak with us when we asked.

[banderboo]

It would really depend on the circumstances. In most cases slips and falls are accidents and while preventable can and do happen just about everywhere. However, there are circumstance that would warrent a lawsuit i.e a spill on a staircase that was brought to the attention of a crew member and ignored. Then cruiseline deny paying medical bills etc.

[Whistlespitter]

i fall down all the time. I blame no one but myself.

 

can I sue God if I slip on ice?

Yess, if the ice is somewhere that ice should not be!

[willysgrandma]

I agree with TRadle. If I slipped due to my own inattention, that would be entirely different. If I slipped because someone was negligent and didn't hurt anything, I would just move on. But if I slipped because someone was negligent and got hurt, I would certainly expect my medical expenses to be paid by the negligent party. In all the cases the OP cited, those were conditions that the cruise ship should have been aware of and should have taken care of. And the doctor, of course, should have properly diagnosed a fracture. If he/she wasn't sure, it wouldn't hurt to set it as if it were fractured and have the person follow-up when she got home. Always err on the side of caution.

 

-LadyZolt

 

I agree 100%

[Merion_Mom]

A flourescent light fixture fell from the ceiling of a supermarket, hit me in the head, and knocked me down. They paid for my stitches. I never sued.

I slipped and fell on a wet floor at the entrance to a store, and received stitches, and again, I never sued.

(I must be crazy, but I don't like courtrooms). :confused:

These things happened when I was age 25 and then about age 50. I'm just happy that the injuries weren't worse. :) My answer to the OP is that I probably wouldn't sue because it would be too much aggravation.

I don't think that I want to be around you when you turn 75. ;) :D

[A Sixth?]

Sorry, the question is too vague.

[leoandhugh]

As the preceding answers have shown, the only valid answer to the question polled is "maybe" because all the answers had to explain varying conditions associated with the slip or fall. If medical bills were not fully reimbursed, if ship's doctor took good care and diagnosed correctly, etc. etc, etc. From a poll and question such as posed by the OP no valid conclusions can be or should be drawn:(

[mimikens]

It would really depend upon how serious the injuries were (I wouldn't sue if I just skinned my knee or sprained something) and if the cruise lines were really at fault. I would only sue for medical expenses, lost wages and one free trip a year for the rest of my life! :D

[dharmapath]

only if I slipped on my own vomit from too many umbrella drinks.

[Cincy-David]

I have to chime in.

 

While on the Mariner of the Seas in November 2005, I slipped and fell right near the entrance of the Windjammer where they had set up a table to sell bottled water for the guest going out to the pool deck.

 

When I say I fell, I am a very large man (6' 6" and more than 300 pounds). I fell hard in front of lots of folks.

 

Clearly, the run off from the drink sales table caused my fall.

 

Thought I was not seriously injured (bruise leg and strained knee), my camera was destroyed and my prescription sunglasses were broken.

 

During the entire event, I was quite put off that not one staff member offerered to help me or even check on me (trust me, you could not have missed me lying on the floor).

 

Afterwards, another Cruise Critic member advised to me file a report with Guest Services to see if my cruise insurance would cover the value of my camera and glasses (about $700). I was told that it was and given a copy of the report to file with the cruise insurance once back home.

 

It has now been almost two years and I still have received a dime for the claim submitted (three times) on the personal belongings or the subsequent therapy that was required for my knee. Not one person ever followed up with me in person, despite dozens of attempts to get some assistance.

 

Had I known then how poorly this was all handled (by the insurance company), I would have sued for the $1,000 they still owe me. Seems petty, but it still burns me. Not horribly though, I have cruised RCL since then and have another booked for November.

 

Just my humble little story.

Dave

[Monkey10]

I am a proponent of torte reform, as people today can sue for millions for falling off a curb if it is not painted!!!

 

If I slipped and fell on my patootie, I'd probably get up, look around and see if anyone saw, and if they did, hide my face for the rest of the cruise out of embarrassment. :o

 

However, if I were seriously injured and they did not diagnose the injury correctly OR if they refused to pay the medical bills OR if the injury was caused by gross negligence of the cruise line, then I would sue.

 

But NOT for millions of dollars!!! I'd ask for only my medical bills, lost income (if I broke my wrist, I couldn't do my job for 6-12 weeks), and attorney's fees.

 

Travel insurance usually covers the medical expenses though.

 

Just my two cents.

[boaterette]

I think that lawsuits are totally out of control. I work for an agency that gets sued a lot. People refuse to take personal resposibility anymore and are mostly looking to blame others. I have yet to see anyone sue for just their meds or lost wages. Every single lawsuit has asked for millions in punitive damages. It is totally ridiculous. We need tort reform.

[BobBeaSea]

I think that lawsuits are totally out of control. I work for an agency that gets sued a lot. People refuse to take personal resposibility anymore and are mostly looking to blame others. I have yet to see anyone sue for just their meds or lost wages. Every single lawsuit has asked for millions in punitive damages. It is totally ridiculous. We need tort reform.

 

I don't think lawsuits are out of control, just some people are :). Every case is unique and different, let me give you an example: You are a woman diagnosed with breast cancer and you ultimately have surgery to remove both breasts. You find out after the fact you did not have breast cancer, your file, test results etc. were mixed up with other patients....do you think lost wages and meds is enough to cover this?

 

Think it can't happen? It did in Minnesota in 2002. You could say she is lucky she is alive but, what about the 98,000 people each year who die in hospitals due to negligence...any thoughts on remedies for their families?

 

To the lawyers on the boards, thank God we have ya and I sincerely hope I never need you for a lawsuit. :)