Lawsuit Accuses Carnival Cruise of Hiring Unlicensed Doctor

Medical services aboard cruise ships are notoriously iffy. However, a recent lawsuit accuses Carnival Cruise of hiring an unlicensed doctor to perform medical services aboard their ship. Mary Ann Murphy filed a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise after her husband died aboard the ship after receiving what she believes to be a low-standard quality of care. A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise denies that the doctor was unlicensed.

What Happened? 

Mary Ann Murphy and her 55-year-old husband, Daniel, were traveling in May of 2018 when Daniel began complaining of chest pain, diarrhea, chills, sweating, and stomach ache. Daniel went to the ship’s infirmary where Dr. Chenna Kesava Reddy Yenuga Mandi released the man and directed him to rest and recover in his room for the next 24 hours.

According to the plaintiff, Murphy was allowed to leave the ship in Cozumel where he suffered a cardiac event and later died. She has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her husband.

The Case Against Carnival 

Interestingly, the plaintiff can file a lawsuit against Carnival even if Dr. Mandi was board certified or licensed. In this case, she is claiming that the doctor had no license to practice medicine. If this is true, Carnival can be held liable for both compensatory damages to the widow and may also be hit with punitive damages for gross negligence. Dr. Mandi could face criminal charges if the accusations turn out to be true.

Carnival Cruises requires all doctors to be board-certified to practice medicine in either the U.S. or Canada or be fully registered in their native country if the standards of that country are comparable to those in the United States. Carnival has defended Dr. Mandi’s experience and certification, responding that the man worked in a large hospital with a turnover rate of 300 patients and an emergency room.

Carnival also asked a judge to dismiss charges against them that alleged that they never checked into Dr. Mandi’s background prior to hiring him to operate their infirmary. However, a judge rejected their motion to dismiss that part of the case.

What this means for both defendant and plaintiff is that Dr. Mandi’s credentials and experience will be called into question during the trial. The plaintiffs will allege that Mandi lacks the baseline credentials to perform medicine. Carnival will do everything in their power to prove otherwise, including showing his work experience and university degrees.

In the end, the accusation of being unlicensed may not be required to prove that this doctor committed some form of medical malpractice. It’s apparent that the doctor believed that Daniel Murphy had some kind of stomach bug that would go away after a few hours of rest. Stomach bugs are quite common aboard cruise ships. The question then becomes: Why didn’t the doctor try to eliminate the possibility that Murphy was having heart problems and would a reasonable doctor, given the same circumstances, have made an effort to eliminate that possibility? If Mandi had, Daniel Murphy would likely still be alive.

Talk to a Cruise Line Injury Lawyer  

If you’ve been injured aboard a cruise ship, Miami wrongful death lawyer Michael F. Guilford can handle your claim against the cruise line and get you the monetary relief you deserve. Talk to us today for a free consultation.

Resource:

foxnews.com/travel/carnival-cruise-lines-unlicensed-doctor

https://www.crewcounsel.com/3-types-of-death-on-the-high-seas/