Cruise Ship Doctor Malpractice: Can You Sue the Line?

When you're sick or hurt at sea, the ship's medical center is often the only care available. If the ship's doctor or nurse makes a serious mistake, can you hold the cruise line responsible? For many years the answer was no. In the federal court where most cruise cases are filed, it's now often yes.

The case that changed the rule

Franza involved a passenger on the Explorer of the Seas, a ship that has sailed from Cape Liberty in Bayonne. He hit his head while the ship was docked in Bermuda. His family alleged the ship's nurse didn't assess his head injury or order scans, and the doctor didn't see him for nearly four hours. He died about a week later.

The trial court dismissed the claim against Royal Caribbean under Barbetta. The Eleventh Circuit reversed. It held that the general maritime law standard of reasonable care applies, and that a cruise line can be vicariously liable for its medical staff like any other employer.

Two ways to hold the cruise line responsible

Actual agency. The court looks at control: whether the cruise line hired and could fire the medical staff, paid them, supplied the medical center and equipment, and directed their work. Medical staff wearing ship uniforms and working in a ship-owned clinic are often the cruise line's agents in fact, even if a contract calls them independent contractors.

Apparent agency. Even without actual control, the line can be liable if:

1. the cruise line represented that the medical staff worked for it;
2. that led the passenger to reasonably believe they did; and
3. the passenger relied on that belief to their detriment, for example by going to the ship's medical center instead of waiting for care ashore.

Where the case is filed matters

Franza binds federal courts in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Other federal circuits haven't all followed it, and some courts still apply Barbetta. Because most major lines' tickets require suit in federal court in Miami, many passengers end up in a court that follows Franza. See why your ticket says Miami. When suit must be filed there, the case may be handled with co-counsel admitted in that court.

Common ship medical failures

• Not recognizing a head injury, stroke or heart attack, and failing to escalate.
• Delays in seeing a doctor after a fall or emergency.
• Failing to recommend or arrange a timely medical evacuation or transfer ashore.
• Medication errors.
• Inadequate staffing or equipment for the number of passengers on board.

Proving any of these takes medical experts. You'll need the ship's medical records, so ask for a copy before you leave the ship and keep every receipt.

Claims against the doctor personally

You can sometimes name the doctor too, but ship physicians are often foreign nationals and may not be easy to sue in a U.S. court. That's one reason the claim against the cruise line matters so much.

How this differs from New Jersey malpractice cases

A malpractice claim against a New Jersey hospital requires an affidavit of merit from a qualified expert (N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-27). A maritime claim against a cruise line in federal court follows federal rules instead, though you still need expert testimony to prove the standard of care. See affidavits of merit in New Jersey for the land-based rule.

Deadlines

Medical claims are personal injury claims under the ticket. Expect written notice within 6 months and suit within 1 year (46 U.S.C. § 30526). If the passenger died, § 30526(d) may pause the deadlines until a representative is appointed, up to three years. See cruise injury claim deadlines and deaths at sea.

Learn more on our cruise ship injury lawyer page.

General information, not legal advice. Medical negligence claims depend heavily on expert review of the records.