Showers v. Carnival Corporation et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against All Defendants. Filing fee $ 350.00 receipt number 113C-4193730, filed by John E. Showers. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet)(Hellman, Gary)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JOHN E. SHOWERS, IND. AND AS THE
PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
ESTATE OF VICTORIA SHOWERS, DECEASED
Plaintiff
V.
CARNIVAL CORPORATION, A/K/A CARNIVAL
CORPORATION & PLC, D/B/A CARNIVAL
CRUISE LINES, AND CVETANKA BULAJIC, AND
LOLITA KARPIENE, AND JOHN DOE
c/o Carnival, Carnival Place,
3655 NW 87 Avenue, Miami, FL 33178-2428
Defendants

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Civil Action No.

COMPLAINT
By and through undersigned counsel, Plaintiff, JOHN E. SHOWERS ( Plaintiff ),
individually and as personnel representative of the Estate of VICTORIA SHOWERS
( Victoria ), his wife now deceased, files this Complaint against Defendants, CARNIVAL
CORPORATION, a/k/a CARNIVAL CORPORATION & PLC, d/b/a CARNIVAL CRUISE
LINES ( Carnival ), and CVETANKA BULAJIC, LOLITA KARPIENE, and JOHN DOE,
individuals, and in support thereof states the following:
PARTIES AND JURISDICTION
1.

Plaintiff, for himself and the Estate of Victoria, seeks to recover damages for

personal injuries suffered by himself and Victoria as a result of negligence, carelessness, acts and
omissions of and breaches of duties by Carnival, and its agents, servants and employees, all
acting within the course and scope of their duties and responsibilities to Carnival, while Plaintiff

and his decedent Victoria were guests onboard the cruise ship M/V Carnival Dream ( Carnival
Dream ), and for resulting in the ultimate death of Victoria.
2.

Plaintiff Showers, an individual and personal representative of the Estate of

Victoria, deceased, his former wife, is a resident and citizen of the State of Florida and whose
current residence address is 9856 SE 125th Lane, Summerfield, FL 34491.
3.

At the times of the actions, omissions and breaches of duties complained of

herein, Plaintiff and Plaintiff s Decedent, Victoria were fare paying passengers on a voyage of
the cruise liner Carnival Dream.
4.

Defendant Carnival Corporation, a/k/a Carnival Corporation & PLC, doing

business as Carnival Cruise Lines, is a for-profit foreign corporation of the Republic of Panama
and/or it is or they are corporations or other entities of England or the United Kingdom, doing
business in Florida under the registered fictitious name of Carnival Cruise Lines, and which
conducts business and maintains an important or principal place of business in Miami-Dade
County Florida, specifically at Carnival Place, 3655 NW 87 Avenue, Miami, Florida 331782428, and at all relevant times was doing business as a common carrier for hire of passengers by
water.
5.

At all times material to this action, Carnival was the owner and operator of the

cruise liner Carnival Dream, operating in domestic and international waters, carrying passengers
for hire.
6.

Defendant Cvetanka Bulajic ( Bulajic ) is believed to be a citizen and resident of

the country of South Africa, with an address at Carel De Wet 100, Brits, Gauteng 0250 Zaf.
7.

Defendant Lolita Karpiene ( Karpiene ), is believed to be a citizen and resident

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of the country of Lithuania, with an address at Klevu 15, Vilniaus Raj. Avieniu Sen, Vilnius
03225 LTU.
8.

Defendant John Doe is an male believed to be a member of the crew of the

Carnival Dream and an employee of Carnival as hereinafter described, whose identity is
unknown to Plaintiff after reasonable inquiry ( Unidentified Crewmember ). If and when the
true name of John Doe is discovered, it will be inserted in the Complaint by amendment.
9.

During the subject voyage Defendants Bulajic and Karpiene were assigned to the

Carnival Dream as physician and nurse respectively, and were identified as and held out by
Carnival to be officers and members of the crew of the Carnival Dream.
10.

At the times relevant to this action, Defendant John Doe was an additional

Carnival male employee and crew member of the Carnival Dream whose identity was requested
from Carnival but it has failed and has not been revealed by Carnival ( Unidentified
Crewmember ).
11.

John Doe substituted for the ship s assigned medical personnel and covered the

Medical clinic, center or sick bay ( Medical Clinic ) of the Carnival Dream, as a regular
member of the crew. This Unidentified Crewmember first saw, examined and rendered the
initial therapy to or for Victoria as hereinafter explained.
12.

This is an action brought under general maritime law and under the authority of

the Death on the High Seas Act, particularly, 46 U.S.C. section 30306, under the laws of Belize,
and alternatively 46 U.S.C. section 30302, for wrongful acts, negligence and defaults having
occurred while the Carnival Dream was anchored in the local waters of Belize, so that the action
is also based on the Courts of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction and

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venue is based on, among other things, the forum selection clause believed to be contained in the
passenger ticket between Plaintiff and Carnival.
13.

Any and all conditions precedent to the commencement of this action including

Plaintiff s prior written Notice of Claim sent by Certified Mail, return receipt requested mailed
March 15, 2011, have been performed by Plaintiff or have otherwise occurred.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
14.

Victoria died on December 22, 2010, as a direct and proximate result of the

negligence and carelessness of Defendants, the individual defendants, inclusive of the
Unidentified Crew Member, acting within the course and scope of their real or apparent
authority, office or employment as members of the crew of the Carnival Dream, as more
particularly described below.
15.

Victoria was 59 years old at the time of the events described herein and her

untimely death as a result of the conduct of Defendants which occurred on November 2, 2010,
commencing on board the Carnival Dream. Before November 2, 2010, Victoria was in
reasonably good health, subject only to limited medical conditions consistent with her age.
16.

Plaintiff and Victoria boarded the Carnival Dream with another couple in Miami,

Florida on October 30, 2010, for a Carribean cruise. Victoria had no symptoms that she
associated with constipation or any other bowel condition at that time.
17.

On October 31, 2010, Victoria first complained of a bit of constipation and ate a

light evening meal, and planned to obtain an over-the-counter medication for her constipation
when the ship arrived in Cozumel, Mexico the next day.
18.

On November 1, 2010, because Victoria was still constipated, she went ashore in

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Cozumel, and purchased and took the over the counter laxative, dulcolax, which did not relieve
her constipation. She was unable to attend dinner that evening.
19.

Carnival advertised and represented to passengers aboard its ships including the

Carnival Dream that qualified medical personnel were on-call 24 hours a day to handle
emergency medical situations.
20.

In the morning of November 2, 2010, while the ship was anchored in Belize

waters, Victoria was in serious and severe abdominal pain so severe that Victoria was unable to
walk. As a result, at 9:00 a.m., Plaintiff began calling for a wheelchair to take his wife to the
Medical Clinic on the ship. The inability to walk is an indication of peritonitus.
21.

A wheelchair was not provided by the ship until at about 10:30 a.m., at which

time Plaintiff wheeled his wife to the Medical Clinic with the expectation based on Carnival s
representations, that the ship s doctor or other qualified medical personnel would be on duty or
available to provide necessary attention because of the severity of her pain and discomfort. At
that time Mrs. Showers was dressed only in her underwear and the ship s bathrobe, wore no
make up and had not combed her hair.
22.

On arrival at the Medical Clinic, the John Doe, the male Unidentified

Crewmember, was in attendance behind a teller like opening or window, who was wearing a
ship s officer s uniform with a tag that read RN , and had an insignia badge or similar device
that identified him as a ship s officer.
23.

Plaintiff explained to the Unidentified Crewmember that his wife was in severe

pain in her upper abdominal area and was extremely constipated. The attendant Unidentified
Crewmember, believed at that time to have been a Registered Nurse based on the uniform tag,

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did not perform any examination, and failed to take a history or ask any other questions, did not
palpate her abdomen, and did not take her vital signs. He prescribed a Fleets Enema which
Plaintiff administered to his wife after departing the Medical Clinic, but which did not relieve
Victoria s constipation.
24.

The Unidentified Crewmember medical attendant advised Plaintiff to return to the

Medical Clinic at 3:30 p.m. when the ship s doctor would be on duty.
25.

After the failure of the enema to relieve Victoria s condition Plaintiff sought

further assistance, and was only given another Fleets Enema by the same male crewmember,
which he also administered without success.
26.

Because of Victoria s continuing and increasingly severe pain and discomfort,

Plaintiff took her back to the Medical Clinic at about 3:30 to 4:00 p.m., to see the ship s doctor.
27.

On return to the Medical Clinic, Victoria was initially seen by a female nurse,

identified by Carnival to have been Defendant Karpiene, who was in uniform similar to the male
nurse who attended her in the morning. Karpiene then took her to and examination room be
examined by the Ship s Doctor, Defendant Bulajic.
28.

Victoria was then seen by a female doctor, identified by Carnival to have been

Defendant Bulajic, who was also dressed in uniform, as a ship s officer and crewmember, who
forced Victoria to walk a short distance into the examining room.
29.

Carnival has claimed and represented that Karpiene and Bulajic were the only

medical personnel assigned to and aboard the Carnival Dream for the subject cruise.
30.

On information and belief, the doctor performed an examination, and concluded

that Victoria was severely impacted and had a bowel obstruction, and told Plaintiff that his

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wife s condition was an emergency, that if the fecal matter was not immediately removed, she
would explode and had to be removed from the ship because of the medical emergency.
31.

Doctor Bulajic stated that because of the medical emergency Victoria had to be

immediately removed from the ship and transported to the hospital in Belize, where the ship was
anchored, for emergency treatment to prevent serious complications. The doctor represented to
Plaintiff that the hospital in Belize was a good hospital to which they sent sick crew members
for medical care when sickbay couldn t handle the problem.
32.

Contrary to the Doctor s representations and as confirmed by the United States

State Department and known to Carnival and Bulajic, the availability of advanced medical
treatment in Belize is limited, even in Belize City, and serious injuries or illnesses often require
evacuation to another country.
33.

Although the doctor had labeled Victoria s condition a medical emergency, she

was required to wait an addition 1.5 hours until the launch was used to load and return to the ship
all of the other passengers who had disembarked in Belize before the launch was allowed to
evacuate her from the ship for medical treatment.
34.

Victoria was ultimately taken from the ship to the dock, and transported by

ambulance to the Belize Medical Center.
35.

By the time Plaintiff s decedent was seen at the Belize Medical Center, it was too

late to arrange for a timely flight for emergency care and treatment at hospital in Miami, Florida.
36.

The physician at the Belize Medical Center confirmed that Victoria was suffering

from a serious bowl obstruction, and was in need of emergency care and treatment, including
surgery. The Belize Medical Center was unable to render the kind of emergency surgical

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treatment necessary to have any hope of relieving her condition. Intervention was limited to
attempting a colonoscopy, which also failed to relieve her condition.
37.

Plaintiff was unable to arrange for commercial air transportation to Miami, having

missed the last flight out of Belize on that day (November 2, 2010).
38.

Plaintiff was required to make arrangements for emergency medevac through

Mondile Assistance to provide for a special air evacuation flight from Belize City to Miami,
Florida on November 3, 2010.
39.

Victoria arrived at the emergency room at the Kendall Regional Medical Center,

in Miami, Florida in the early morning hours of November 4, 2010, followed by her admission to
the hospital.
40.

Following Victoria s admission for severe abdominal pain and obstructed bowl,

emergency surgery was performed to deal with perforated viscous, severe sepsis and related
problems. Existing peritoneal contamination of Victoria s abdomen gave her virtually no chance
of survival. Medical treatment at that time could only prolong her dying process.
41.

Victoria remained hospitalized from November 4, 2010 until December 22, 2010,

during which time she was subjected to multiple surgical procedures, and treatments for bowl
obstruction infection and complications from this condition, including shock, pneumonia and
acute kidney injury. Notwithstanding the continuous intensive care and treatment, and the severe
pain and suffering she endured, Victoria died on December 22, 2010.
42.

As a direct and proximate result of the acts of defendants as set forth above and in

the following paragraphs, Victoria was caused to suffer great pain and suffering, and loss of the
joys and pleasures of life, and Plaintiff sustained the losses and damages hereinafter stated.

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COUNT I
NEGLIGENCE, SURVIVAL
ALL DEFENDANTS
LAW OF BELIZE
43.

Plaintiff restates each and every allegation in paragraphs 1 through 42 above, and

hereinafter set forth.
44.

Plaintiff and Victoria were citizens and residents of the State of Florida at the time

of decedent s death.
45.

The wrongful acts of defendants occurred while the Carnival Dream was

anchored or otherwise secured, moored or at rest while in the port of Belize City, Belize, a
sovereign nation.
46.

Victoria was transported by water, motor launch, from the Carnival Dream while

so located, to the dock and by ambulance to the Belize Medical Center, a hospital located in
Belize City.
47.

Victoria Showers was seen and admitted to the emergency department and thence

admitted to the Belize Medical Center, where she also received treatment and care rendered by
physicians who were on staff there.
48.

Belize Medical Center did not have adequate staff or facilities to handle the

medical emergency for which Victoria was sent or transported by Defendants.
49.

Plaintiff made necessary arrangements to evacuate Victoria to Miami, Florida, to

the Kendall Regional Medical Center, but he was able to do so only after the inordinate delays in
identifying the severity of her condition and thereafter being subjected to the ship s failure to
arrange for immediate air evacuation to a properly equipped and staffed medical facility instead
of the delayed transport to the Belize Medical Center.
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50.

The voyage on the Carnival Dream was made pursuant to a passage ticket issued

by Carnival Cruise Line to Plaintiff and Victoria as a contract of adhesion which among other
obscure clauses, contained a provision which mandated that any action against Carnival could be
brought only in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
51.

Belize law provides:
On the death of any person after the commencement of this Act, all causes of
action subsisting against or vested in him shall survive against, or, as the case may
be, for the benefit of, his estate.

Laws of Belize, Administration of Estates, Ch. 197 [160], §26(4). It further provides:
The rights conferred by this section for the benefit of the estates of deceased
persons shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any rights conferred on the
dependents of deceased persons by sections 8 to 16 inclusive of the Torts Act,
....
52.

Although the laws of Belize provide for a full tort-based recovery for wrongful

acts of negligence in Belize, including wrongful death and survival, the tort having occurred
within its territorial limits, the forum selection clause of the passage contract precludes bringing
the action in the courts of Belize. Therefore Belize is not an accessible foreign forum in which
to bring this action, although the Courts of Belize would otherwise afford a remedy for the acts
of Defendants.
53.

The acts complained of as to Defendants all occurred within the territorial limits

of Belize, although also within the definition of high seas under the Death on the High Seas Act.
54.

Defendants are all of diverse citizenship, with Carnival Cruise Line being the

fictitious name of an operating company owned and controlled by a corporation formed under
the laws of the Republic of Panama, and with the ship being registered under and flying the flag
of

Panama, but also affiliated with Carnival PLC, a company or corporation formed under the
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laws of the United Kingdom. There is no clear demarcation by or between the two or more
entities that make up Carnival Corporation & PLC.
55.

It is unclear whether the entity defendants have any actual allegiance to any state

or jurisdiction given the mixed nature of the formation states, and the flag state, and other related
or interrelated foreign sovereigns involved in Carnival s legal existence.
56.

Because Carnival has a mixed origin and formation status, as well as flag states

for its ships, it is not completely clear where the actual base of operations is situated, given that it
is known by its own publications as Carnival Corporation, but also as Carnival Corporation &
PLC, and the nature of its centers in the Republic of Panama and in England or the United
Kingdom are not fully disclosed in its publications.
57.

The laws of the United States otherwise affords jurisdiction to hear this matter,

and preserves to the injured plaintiffs and Victoria a right to sue on a claim arising within the
admiralty jurisdiction of the federal courts, which under the Death on the High Seas Act, allows
such action to proceed to enforce a remedy provided for under applicable foreign law, in this
case being the laws of Belize.
58.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of Defendants,

and as to Carnival, directly and acting by and through its agents, servants, workman and
employees, in the course and scope of their employments, as set forth above, prior to her death
Victoria suffered extreme pain and suffering and loss of amenities and the enjoyment of life, and
incurred substantial medical expenses for which her estate, by and through Plaintiff acting as its
personal representative is entitled to recover along with funeral expenses and such other damages
as are permissible and recoverable in a tort personal injury action.

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WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands against Defendants in an amount in excess of
$5,000,000.00, plus interest and costs of suit and delay damages and for a trial by jury on all
issues so triable.
COUNT II
NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL DEATH
ALL DEFENDANTS
LAW OF BELIZE
59.

Plaintiff restates each and every allegation in paragraphs 1 through 58 above, and

those hereinafter set forth.
60.

Belize law provides:
Where the death of a person is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default
which is such as would (if death had not ensured) have entitled the party
injured to maintain an action for damages in respect of his injury thereby,
the person who would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be
liable to an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person
injured, and although the death was caused under such circumstances as
amount in law to felony.

Laws of Belize, Torts Act, Ch. 172 [134], § 9.
61.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of Defendants,

and as to Carnival, directly and acting by and through its agents, servants, workman and
employees, in the course and scope of their employments, as set forth above, Plaintiff has
suffered the following damages: (a) medical and funeral expenses incurred by Plaintiff; (b)
expenses for administration of Victoria s estate; ( c) deprivation of the support and loss of
consortium, counsel, aid, association, care, financial support, and the services of Victoria; (d)
deprivation of the society, love and affection of Victoria, and (e) such other damages as are
permissible and recoverable in a wrongful death action.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands against Defendants in an amount in excess of
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$5,000,000.00, plus interest and costs of suit and delay damages and for a trial by jury on all
issues so triable.
COUNT III
NEGLIGENCE OF CARNIVAL
62.

Plaintiff restates each and every allegation in paragraphs 1 through 61 above as if

here fully set forth.
63.

Under maritime law, Carnival as a carrier owes a duty to its passengers such as

Plaintiff and Victoria to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances to include furnishing
sick and injured passengers such aid and assistance as an ordinarily prudent person would render
under similar circumstances, and to arrange for prompt medical evacuation from the ship for
medical emergencies.
64.

Defendant Carnival was negligent and careless in that it failed to provide proper

personnel to staff the Medical Clinic on the Carnival Dream on November 2, 2010, in that it
allowed the Unidentified Crewmember, an untrained or incompetent employee, to staff the
Medical Clinic, represent himself as an RN and ship s officer, thereby inducing Plaintiff and his
decedent to rely upon this unqualified crew member for medical care and treatment.
65.

The Unidentified Crewmember who Carnival held out as a qualified doctor or

nurse by assigning or otherwise giving him access to the Medical Clinic, and by his wearing a
ship s officer s uniform and accouterments including an RN tag, failed to take a medical history
and to properly examine, diagnose, care for, and treat Victoria, and failed to immediately contact
the ship s doctor or the master to deal with what was already a medical emergency which
required immediate removal to a competent medical facility with the personnel and equipment
needed to deal with this particular medical emergency.
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66.

The serious medical errors made by the Unidentified Crewmember were

compounded by the improper assumption that Victoria suffered from a mild constipated
condition, in prescribing a Fleets Enema on two occasions, without performing a proper
evaluation, and in failing to engage competent medical consultation, and in failing to callout the
ship s doctor or to consult with the ship s master or inform him of the situation.
67.

Carnival was directly negligent and careless in the delay in providing a

wheelchair as requested for Plaintiff to timely transport Victoria to the Medical Clinic, and in
allowing the incompetent Unidentified Crewmember to stand in as a medical officer, to render
improper treatment, and to fail to immediately advise the ships s master of the emergency and to
require medical evacuation from the ship to a competent and properly qualified and equipped
medical facility.
68.

These initial errors were compounded by the delay in Victoria s seeing the ship s

doctor, and thereafter, in failing to immediately arrange for emergency medical evacuation from
the ship by air transport to a proper and medically competent facility for treating the medical
emergency which was finally recognized by the ship s doctor in late afternoon, November 2,
2010.
69.

With the initial signs of peritonitus, time was of the essence for Victoria to obtain

appropriate medical treatment. Had she been evaluated, given antibiotics and an IV, and
promptly evacuated to the United States following the initial visit to the Medical Clinic in the
morning of November 2, 2010, Victoria may have survived.
70.

Carnival was negligent in failing to develop, provide or follow appropriate

procedures for handling medical situations where the ship s medical staff is not available

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including ability to contact the medical staff and to notify the ship s master for appropriate action
in the medical staff s absence, or to provide other qualified employees to evaluate and treat
emergency medical conditions.
71.

Even after the ship s master and crew were advised of the medical emergency

declared by Doctor Bulajic, they failed and refused to provide immediate evacuation from the
ship, and improperly, negligently and callously ignored Victoria s condition and mandated that
she wait until all passengers were transported back to the ship by launch, before having the
launch return to the ship to evacuate her to the dock for transport to Belize Medical Center, and
failing to provide or arrange for alternate means of emergency evacuation.
72.

Carnival s procedures or lack thereof for identifying and communicating medical

emergencies to arrange for prompt medical evacuation coupled with the lack of adequate medical
facilities for serious conditions in Belize as known by Carnival, resulted in substantial delay in
the ultimate evacuation of Victoria to competent medical facilities in the United States.
73.

As a direct and proximate cause of the foregoing negligence, carelessness and

recklessness on the part of all Defendants, Plaintiff s decedent was caused to suffer a medical
emergency without adequate or prompt treatment, which in turn was the direct and proximate
cause of her prolonged intensive care, and ultimate death on December 22, 2010.
74.

As a direct and proximate cause of the foregoing, Plaintiff and his family were

caused to sustain and incur great pecuniary losses and damages, which include but are not
limited to loss of the services and society of Victoria, substantial expenses for her medical and
hospital care, funeral expenses, loss of Victoria s earnings and earning capacity and other
income including Social Security benefits, loss of inheritance and loss the household services

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and care provided by Victoria to Plaintiff and her family, and other pecuniary losses and
expenses.
75.

In addition to the foregoing, Plaintiff has been denied the care, attention and

society of his wife; and the loss of companionship she provided.
76.

In addition, Victoria was subjected to massive and excruciating pain, suffering,

and discomfort, and loss of the joys and pleasures of life, as well as great embarrassment, from
the time of her injuries to her untimely death.
77.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of Defendants,

and as to Carnival, directly and acting by and through its agents, servants, workman and
employees, in the course and scope of their employments, as set forth above, Plaintiff has
suffered the following damages: (a) medical and funeral expenses incurred by Plaintiff; (b)
expenses for administration of Victoria s estate; ( c) deprivation of the support and loss of
consortium, counsel, aid, association, care, financial support, and the services of Victoria; (d)
deprivation of the society, love and affection of Victoria, and (e) such other damages as are
permissible and recoverable in a wrongful death action.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands against Defendants in an amount in excess of
$5,000,000.00, plus interest and costs of suit and delay damages and for a trial by jury on all
issues so triable.
COUNT IV
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE OF DEFENDANTS
BULAJIC AND KARPIENE
78.

Plaintiff restates each and every allegation in paragraphs 1 through 77 above as if

here fully set forth.

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79.

Because of Victoria s severe symptoms and extreme distress following three to

four days of constipation, Karpiene was negligent and did not meet the requisite standard of care
for emergency medical personnel and a registered nurse conducting triage by failing to recognize
the seriousness of Victoria s condition, failed to adequately advise the physician, and
unnecessarily delaying Victoria s examination by Defendant Bulajic.
80.

Dr. Bulajic was negligent and failed to meet the requisite standard of care by,

despite Victoria s serious condition involving a bowel obstruction which she knew could be fatal
if not promptly and competently treated, despite knowledge to the contrary, represented to
Plaintiff that the Belize hospital was a good facility which could handle the problem and directed
Victoria s evacuation to that inferior and unqualified hospital. A reasonable and prudent medical
professional in Bulajic s position would have ordered Victoria s emergency evacuation to
Miami, and her failure to do resulted in severe pain and suffering and ultimately cost Victoria her
life.
81.

Defendant Bulajic was also negligent as a physician and emergency medical

professional in her failure to properly instruct and control personnel manning the Medical Clinic
by allowing unqualified persons such as the Unidentified Crewmember to be present in the
Medical Clinic to attend patients such as Victoria, without supervision, without the proper
training, knowledge, qualifications and experience, and without instructions for contacting the
doctor in and/or the ship s master in emergency cases.
82.

Dr. Bulajic failed to exercise the required degree of care by failing to properly

supervise and instruct Karpiene on proper emergency triage and the need for prompt medical
examination and attention by the attending physician under the facts and circumstances of this

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case and the severe symptoms shown by Victoria, which negligence caused or contributed to the
delay in Victoria s diagnosis and evacuation to a competent medical facility capable of providing
the high degree of medical care required to treat the condition.
83.

As a physician, Defendant Bulajic is vicariously liable for the acts and omissions

of nurses or other medical personnel including Nurse Karpiene and, assuming that he was subject
to the doctor s supervision and control, the Unidentified Crewmember.
84.

As a direct, proximate and foreseeable result of the negligence and fault of

Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember, Victoria received inadequate and injurious
treatment and suffered severe and permanent injury resulting in here untimely death.
85.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of Defendants

Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember, as set forth above, Plaintiff has suffered
the following damages: (a) medical and funeral expenses incurred by Plaintiff; (b) expenses for
administration of Victoria s estate; ( c) deprivation of the support and loss of consortium,
counsel, aid, association, care, financial support, and the services of Victoria; (d) deprivation of
the society, love and affection of Victoria, and (e) such other damages as are permissible and
recoverable in a wrongful death action.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands against Defendants in an amount in excess of
$5,000,000.00, plus interest and costs of suit and delay damages and for a trial by jury on all
issues so triable.
COUNT V
NEGLIGENCE OF CARNIVAL BY APPARENT AUTHORITY
86.

Plaintiff restates each and every allegation in paragraphs 1 through 85 above as if

here fully set forth.
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87.

Under general maritime law, the Carnival Cruise s medical staff owed a duty of

reasonable care under the circumstances which was breached as described above.
88.

Carnival Cruises is vicariously liable for any and all of the negligent acts of its

ship s master and its apparent agents, Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember, who
it held out as officers and/or crewmembers of the Carnival Dream and a Carnival Cruises
employee, inconsistent with being merely independent contractor shipboard medical personnel.
Carnival represented to its passengers, including Plaintiff and Victoria, that Bulajic, Karpiene
and the Unidentified Crewmember were its agents, employees and members of the crew of the
Carnival Dream and had the authority to act for the benefit of it by, among other things:
89.

Assigning Dr. Bulajic the title of Ship s Physician, and Karpiene as Ship s Nurse,
a.

Requiring Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember to wear

Carnival Cruise rather than scrubs generally worn by medical professionals, which
uniforms included epaulets and stripes indicating rank and hierarchy among the ship s
officers, thus making them appear to be a Carnival official;
b.

Requiring Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember to wear

name badges with the Carnival name and logo, giving them the authenticity of a Carnival
official;
c.

Requiring Plaintiff and Victoria to fill out forms with the Carnival logo

while they were in the Medical Clinic;
d.

Providing Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember with
living

quarters on the Carnival Dream,

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e.

Charging onboard medical treatment as an item on Plaintiff and Victoria s

cruise account, and
f.

Placing Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember under the

command of the Carnival Dream s superior ranking officers.
90.

At all times, Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember were acting

within the course and scope of their apparent agency with Carnival.
91.

Because Carnival represented and otherwise held out Bulajic, Karpiene and the

Unidentified Crewmember were its agents, employees and members of the Carnival Dream s
crew, Plaintiff and Victoria reasonably believed that Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified
Crewmember had the authority to act and, in fact, were acting for and on behalf of Carnival.
92.

Plaintiff and Victoria reasonably acted on this belief and relied upon the apparent

skill, care and authority Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember to fulfill the ship s
duty of reasonable care and for its medical staff to provide proper medical treatment and
evacuation to a competent medical facility appropriate to the nature and severity of Victoria s
medical condition.
93.

This reliance proved detrimental to Victoria as she received untimely and

inadequate and injurious medical treatment and evacuation resulting in great pain and suffering
and her untimely death.
94.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of Defendants

Bulajic, Karpiene and the Unidentified Crewmember, as set forth above, Plaintiff has suffered
the following damages: (a) medical and funeral expenses incurred by Plaintiff; (b) expenses for
administration of Victoria s estate; ( c) deprivation of the support and loss of consortium,

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counsel, aid, association, care, financial support, and the services of Victoria; (d) deprivation of
the society, love and affection of Victoria, and (e) such other damages as are permissible and
recoverable in a wrongful death action.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands against Defendants in an amount in excess of
$5,000,000.00, plus interest and costs of suit and delay damages and for a trial by jury on all
issues so triable.
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
95.

The Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

DATED this 31st day Of October, 2011.
Respectfully Submitted by:
GOLDMAN & HELLMAN
Attorneys for the Plaintiff
800 Southeast Third Avenue
Fourth Floor
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
By:_s/Gary M. Hellman_____
GARY M. HELLMAN
Florida Bar No.: 869244
MATTIONI, LTD.
JOHN MATTIONI, ESQUIRE
PA. Attorney I.D. No. 13168
[e-mail]
JOSEPH STRAMPELLO, ESQUIRE
PA. Attorney I.D. No. 36050
[e-mail]
A. LEO SERENI, ESQUIRE - OF COUNSEL
PA. Attorney I.D. No. 08813
[e-mail]
399 Market Street, Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19106
[phone]
Fax [phone]

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