Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers Lose in Supreme Court
In a major defeat for Florida medical malpractice lawyers and those they represent, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that cruise lines cannot be held liable for medical malpractice by shipboard doctors. In Carnival Corp. vs. Darce Carlisle, the court stated that when deciding questions of U.S. maritime law, Florida courts must follow uniform precedents established at the federal level. Finding that federal courts have generally held that cruise line operators do not exercise control over the doctors’ medical practices, the Court held that there was no cruise line liability for any medical malpractice.
This case arose from a medical malpractice lawsuit filed in April 1998 by the parents of teenager Elizabeth Carlisle, who was diagnosed with flu while aboard the Carnival Corp. liner Ecstasy in 1997. When the family returned home, Elizabeth was found to have suffered a ruptured appendix. As a consequence, she was left sterile.
Elizabeth's parents sued Miami-based Carnival and Dr. Mauro Neri for medical malpractice in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, claiming the doctor was an agent of the cruise line. But the trial court granted summary judgment for Carnival. However, the case was reinstated by the Third District Court of Appeal, which found that a shipboard doctor is under the cruise line’s direct supervision and is not an independent contractor.
The Supreme Court determined that the District Court ignored a longstanding principle of uniformity in federal maritime law when it reinstated the Carlisle family’s suit against Carnival. The United States Supreme Court will be asked to review this decision and overturn existing federal precedent.
As a practical matter, I believe that without being able to hold the cruise lines responsible for medical malpractice by ship doctors, there is little chance of recovery for victims of medical malpractice. We all know that ship doctors hail from many foreign countries and would be difficult to locate and serve with a lawsuit. Of course, there would also be the challenge of collecting from a ship doctor with no medical malpractice insurance or assets that can be reached to satisfy a Florida judgment. Inasmuch as Florida cruise lines attract citizens from all over the United States, the impact of this decision is far-reaching.
