Maritime Lawyer, Williams Kherkher

Healthcare at Sea: Beware of Cruise Ship Doctors

There's something about cruise ship doctors that you should know. It might shock you to find out that cases against cruise ships for negligent doctors usually are dismissed or struggle in court because of a legal ruling that dates back to 1823. The ruling stated that ship owners are only responsible for medical care given to crew members, not passengers.

The fact of the matter is that most ship doctors are actually considered to be independent contractors and are not crew members of the cruise line. Don't let the crew uniform trick you, these doctors have little affiliation with the cruise lines. Cruise companies state being held responsible for these doctors is like holding a landlord responsible for the actions of one of his tenants.

Cruise ship passengers need to be aware of this fact when traveling. Many times there is a warning statement about the fact that the cruise line will not take responsibility for the ship's doctor's actions should a patient feel as if they have been treated by a negligent doctor.

Many times doctors on cruise lines are not U.S. citizens and are therefore hard to locate once a passenger returns home to file a claim against the cruise ship or cruise doctor. If treatment was given outside the boundaries of the U.S., passengers would need to file claims in the country of the doctor's origin which is often very time consuming and expensive. It has been incredibly difficult for some passengers to locate doctors once they have left the ship.

Cruise ship officials say that the concern about health care on ships is over exaggerated and that thousands of passengers receive excellent care from ship doctors every year.

If you have concerns over an injury or illness sustained while at sea, contact a maritime lawyer at Williams Kherkher today by calling 1-866-950-9000.