Medical Emergency Causes Evacuation on Carnival Cruise Ship

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on January 20, 2018

An alarming situation happened early on Saturday morning when numerous people were evacuated from a Carnival Cruise ship docked at Port Canaveral. While specifics as to the reason behind the emergency removal of the individuals was not included in the initial statements from either Carnival Cruise or the Brevard County Fire Rescue, it is known that all of the individuals were rushed to hospitals close to the area.

The statement from the Brevard County Fire Rescue indicates that the ship was located at the Carnival Cruise line terminal at Port Canaveral when an emergency call came in at close to 7:00 in the morning. Medical crews rushed to the ship and wound up transporting six people from the cruise line to hospitals. At the time of this writing, it is not clear whether or not those who were taken from the ship were guests aboard the Carnival Cruise line or were employees working on the vessel. It is also not known if the reason behind the sudden medical evacuation was related to illness or some sort of physical issue resulting from an unknown cause.

Another unknown factor in this situation is whether or not the ship had just returned from a voyage, was about to depart, or had returned early due to the medical emergency. Cruise lines, while prepared for almost any situation, are a unique location given their tremendous distance from proper medical facilities. Medical emergencies that happen aboard a cruise ship can often be treated by the medical staff of the cruise line, however in more serious circumstances the ship simply lacks the equipment and space necessary for treating individuals who are suffering from some sudden medical or physical illness. In these situations, the ship is either forced to delay departure or return to a nearby port as quickly as possible in order to transport the individual or individuals suffering from the medical emergency to a proper hospital.

The situation that developed on Saturday morning, regardless of the specifics, is an illustration of the difficulty of medical situations that take place while on a ship. We can expect further details relating to these circumstances and their management to be forthcoming from Carnival Cruise.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.