Cruise Ship Accident Lawyer Blog
What would you do if you were injured on a cruise ship and found yourself stranded in a foreign country without adequate medical care? That is exactly the situation Dodge Melkonian faced after breaking his hip on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
ABC News reports that Dodge and his wife, Jill, who have been on almost 30 cruises to date, were enjoying Royal Caribbean cruise to Turkey when disaster struck. Dodge slipped and broke his hip onboard the ship.
The cruise line responded by dropping them off at a local hospital in Turkey that was so dirty that Jill was worried Dodge would get an infection if he had to stay there long. To make matters worse, no one at the hospital spoke English, and they did not allow women inside their facility because of strict cultural mores.
Then, the couple found out that the hospital they were left in wasn’t equipped to conduct the surgery that Dodge needed. Stranded and left without any assistance by Royal Caribbean, the couple managed to get into contact with an English-speaking tour guide who found alternative transportation for the couple to a hospital in Istanbul, after Royal Caribbean’s insurance company cancelled their first attempt at transportation.
According to New York Daily News, Dodge is now safely in Istanbul thanks to the Turkish tour guide who even donated his blood to ensure that Dodge recovered.
The couple is left shocked by Royal Caribbean’s actions, especially since they were only on the cruise because they were offered a free ticket as a goodwill gesture after their last cruise ship caught on fire.
Even though the accident occurred in a foreign country, maritime law requires cruise lines to provide passengers with reasonable care in the case of an onboard injury. Dodge—and anyone who has suffered an injury while on a cruise—shouldn’t wait to contact an experienced attorney. In these cases, shorter statute of limitations apply, which could leave the injured party responsible for the medical and transportation costs if action isn’t taken quickly.
If you or a loved one has suffered a cruise ship injury, contact the attorneys at Gerson & Schwartz a at 877-475-2905 for a free consultation. You can be sure that you are in good hands; our attorneys have more than four decades of experience representing injury and accident victims