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'I Want Justice': Suburban Family Sues Cruise Ship Operator For Not Airlifting Woman Who Had ....

MULTIZ321

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'I Want Justice': Suburban Family Sues Cruise Ship Operator For Not Airlifting Woman Who Had Stroke Onboard
By Elyssa Cherney/ Chicago Tribune/ News/ Local/ chicagotribune.com

"Lila Kohn Gale was on a cruise eating dinner with her husband and son when she had a stroke on the first night aboard, just four hours after the ship left the docks in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., her family says.

But instead of contacting the Coast Guard for a medevac or turning back to the South Florida coast, the Holland America Line ship continued toward the Bahamas and took Gale, a therapist from north suburban Highwood, via tugboat to a hospital on Grand Bahama island that did not have a working CT scanner or neurology specialists, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.

The suit claims cruise ship operators demonstrated “shocking and appalling negligence and callous disregard for human life” in failing to provide proper and prompt medical care to Gale despite having a doctor on board when she lost consciousness on the March 2018 cruise.

When doctors at the Bahamian hospital determined they could not treat Gale, her family had to wait overnight until the airport opened so an air ambulance could take her to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, according to the lawsuit. The court filing asserts that Gale, who was rushed into surgery at the Florida hospital, would have suffered less brain damage from the hemorrhage if she had received treatment sooner....."

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Lila "Lisette" Kohn Gale and her husband, John Gale, are shown in 2010 at the Bay of Fundy in Canada. The couple loved traveling until Kohn Gale had a stroke on a cruise in March 2018. (Family photo)


Richard
 

am1

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Unfortunate situation and looks like they were let down on the cruise line but no need to refer to a small hospital as crappy. Smaller hospitals are what people should expect when traveling. Or cruise lines and airlines and the us government should be willing to kick in money to fund those hospitals.
 

silentg

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So unfortunate, how is Lisette doing now?
 

MULTIZ321

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So unfortunate, how is Lisette doing now?
Hi SilentG,

Lisette is not doing very well: ".....John Gale, 68, said he and his wife loved traveling and started taking cruises several years ago. The couple married in 2002 after meeting on Match.com, Gale said. Gale said his wife was born in Argentina and worked as a bilingual therapist and counselor.

“She’s brilliant and vivacious, and she is loved by everybody who knows her,” Gale said. “She has more friends than I do, and I grew up here.”

But these days Lila Gale, who goes by Lisette, needs round-the-clock care and attention, according to the lawsuit. The 65-year-old cannot walk and struggles with language while her memory, perception and concentration skills have been impaired, the lawsuit says. John Gale said his wife lives at a nursing home in Highland Park and that he does not expect her to recover enough to come home....."

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Lila "Lisette" Kohn Gale and her husband, John Gale, visit in her room at Warren Barr North Shore nursing home in Highland Park on Feb. 5, 2019. The couple loved traveling until Kohn Gale had a stroke on a cruise in March 2018. (Family photo)

Richard
 

Passepartout

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Too many unknowns here to be able to determine cause and fault. Did the couple have health/evacuation insurance? What limits? When I fell ill last Summer on a river cruise, the insurance carrier was notified by the cruise director WHILE I WAS ENROUTE TO A HOSPITAL! That was the protocall, and it was followed. All travel insurance I am aware of have 24/7/365 advisors to smooth over the travel difficulties that invariably come up at unplanned-for times. The above couple (appear to have been) on Medicare, that doesn't provide coverage outside the US. It is not clear just who these nice folks feel is responsible for making any decision that might have had a more positive outcome. They just seem to be using the cruise line because it has the deepest pockets.

I wish them well, and hope for an outcome they can live with. Travel has it's risks, and one needs to insure against losses they don't want to cover themselves.

Jim
 

pedro47

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I am praying and wishing Lila Gale and her husband Kohn Gale peace and happiness.
 

tiel

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Just wondering, if they had had a good med evac policy, could she have been evacuated from the cruise ship while at sea?
 

Talent312

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The cruise line's actions prolly had less to do with insurance and more to do with their own expediency - one passenger vs the many, and their bottom line. I hope there's a punitive damage award which takes their profits from the cruise and more, if that's possible under maritime laws and the contract of carriage.

.
 
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pspercy

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I doubt the cruise line's actions had less to do with insurance and more to do with their own expediency - one passenger vs the many, and their bottom line. I hope there's a punitive damage award which takes their profits from the cruise and more, if that's possible under maritime laws and the contract of carriage.

.

Nothing but nasty speculation.
 

Talent312

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