$4.6 million Payout and left with only one hand to count it…..

Ilija Loncar was employed as a waiter onboard the Norwegian Breakaway when he developed flu-like symptoms including sickness. So he decided to get checked out by the onboard doctor Sebastian Campuzano who had only just been hired by Norwegian just a few months prior, and was described as a “young, inexperienced, Columbia-trained physician”. This doctor decided to let Nurse Marco Oracion jag the crew member in the arm with a very high dose of antihistamine promethazine. In normal practice, this drug would be injected into the bum and the dosage much lower than it should have been. It turned out that this drug should have not been given to treat Ilija Loncars illness.  During the time of injection the crew member advised the nurse he could feel burning, this was no cause for concern to either the nurse or doctor.

A few hours later, the crew members right forearm turned black and blue and instead of immediately flying him to a hospital via helicopter, the medical staff massaged the affected area for 24 hours and waited until the ship reached the next dock. As a result of the series of events, he developed Compartment Syndrome, where pressure builds up due to internal bleeding and swelling. Once he reached the hospital it was too late and his right arm had to be amputated from the elbow down. After a legal battle, The crew member was awarded $US3.34 million for past and present pain, medical expenses and loss of future earnings.

This is very worrying, in the UK if we feel unwell we go to the doctors and we know that our doctor is fully qualified and will advise the correct Diagnosis & treatment. I know this isn’t always the case but let’s not get into that… this blog could run on forever. When your abroad or on a cruise ship do you worry about the standard of training and qualifications that a doctor may have?  Luckily I have never had to visit a doctor whilst abroad but this story does get me thinking, what if !!!

Have you had any bad experiences with Doctors while abroad/cruising ??