Might I remind you about the tort reformists, how you voted and Mr. Niemoller’s poem?

Steve Lombardi

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GMA did a story about a cruise line passenger having a heart attack and how the medical staff seemed preoccupied and never seemed to have the time to really examine the man before he passed on. And now everyone is up in arms. Chris Cuomo, having graduated from Fordham University’s law school is well qualified to understand the issues involved.

GMA has a few stories about “Aboard! Dangers of Getting Sick at Sea, Widow Says Her Dream Cruise Turned Tragic Due to Inaction By Ship’s Medical Staff.

To summarize the story here is what happened. Someone gets sick on board a cruise ship, the medical staff treatment falls below the standard of care in the United States and following the man’s death, the widow is outraged about how they were treated. If this were you your reaction would be no different. Because it’s your husband, child or relative it hits home that much harder. For a moment let’s assume it is you. The bills are piling up and you can’t understand why your contacts with the cruise ship owners pretty much go unanswered. You’ve done everything you can to get helpful answers, but after a month of getting the run-a-round your blood’s boiling with rage.

You’re not going to like what I’m about to say to you but sitting in my law office I look you square in the eye and say, “You have only yourself to blame.”

You are all to blame. So stop blaming the cruise line industry for what you did to yourself. You told them to do it. And they did it. You wanted tort reform, you got it. You wanted to jump on board the tort reform cruise line and the ship’s owners laid down the plank from ship to dock for you to stroll onboard before the cruise ship left port. And on board you all got – and now the ship has left port. For awhile you thought your seat was in first class, but not anymore. Now you are one of “the greedy plaintiffs hiring those greedy lawyers to do your bidding so that you could get rich quick and stay home for the rest of your life living off of our insurance dollars.” What? You think I don’t listen? Oh yeah, we all listened to every last stupid lawyer joke, to every criticism, to every one of you calling us greedy. We were there for you and called us greedy. We were there for your kids and you called us greedy. We were there for your spouse and you did more of the same.

So how does it feel? Does the shoe fit?

Might I remind you about history? More specifically may I ask you read about Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemoller. For now keep reading this post today and we’ll get back to Mr. Niemoller.

For all who wanted "tort reform" the cruise line industry is your poster child having created the gold standard for avoiding corporate responsibility.

You may wonder how I can be so unsympathetic to your situation. Read your ticket, not the departure date, but the fine print. Nine million Americans taking annual cruises and probably none realize the risks they assume for this vacation aboard the floating USS Port Reform of Tort Deformed Rights. Again, read the fine print. The cruise line lawyers have created statute of limitations periods shorter than anyone expects. You have notice times for reporting incidents. And forum selection clauses that require you to file suit in places you don’t live, work or play. The cruise ship industry has cunningly entered into contractual relationships with ship doctors making the medical staff independent contractors for which the ship’s owners are not legally responsible. Add in the finer print there is language making them not responsible for shore side excursions, setting limitations on baggage claims and eliminating emotional distress damages. Heck by the time you’re finished all that remains is a small claim action that you are required to file in Dade County, Florida or Seattle, Washington or Los Angeles, California. Ask my colleague Gerry McGill a lawyer in Pensacola, Florida who practices in this area of cruise line cases and litigation.

Medical records show the ship's nurses and Dr. Mark Gibson gave Don medicine to stop vomiting four days before his death. Two days later, Don took a turn for the worse — and so did his medical care, according to his family.

Marlene said she had never seen Don that ill. Early in the morning of their eleventh day on the ship, Marlene called for a nurse to see Don. Records show the nurse came, but took no vital signs — only a temperature — and gave Don medicine to stop his vomiting and diarrhea.

"She looked at him and said, 'You are under quarantine — you are not to leave this room,'" said Marlene.

In the next 24 hours, Marlene asked medical personnel for help four times. Records show she called Dr. Gibson later that morning at 11:20 a.m.

Marlene said Don was weak, confused and had a cough. Gibson told Marlene to keep giving Don medicine to combat allergies and diarrhea.

At 5:30 that evening, Marlene said she was so worried about Don that she went to the infirmary to plead with the doctor to come see Don at their cabin.

Marlene said Gibson told her "he couldn't come because he didn't have the time" and that he would see Don in the morning. The doctor's notes said that Don was improving.

So when the lady says, “Get a lawyer, dear.”, she’s not aware of what tort reform does to any claim you thought you once had. It separates the injured teenage daughter or son, mommy and daddy from the tort lawyers. What you can expect to hear from the lawyer is, “Nope that’s not going to happen.”

In the middle of the night — on the 12th day of their cruise — Marlene made an emergency call for a nurse.

"His skin was turning dark," she recalled.

The nurse didn't come to the cabin, but Marlene said she gave advice, "She said 'Well, get him something to eat and have him drink water.'"

What many of you don’t appreciate is that most of the lawyers, who you so readily bad mouth at cocktail parties, are, just people like you with kids in college and bills to pay. Most don’t have anything to do with mass tort litigation or multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Most are just like you working to buy gas at the pump and hoping to make it on time to the next soccer match. Those lawyers who live and work in your communities are, sorry, were there for protecting you. They too have to earn a living and small claims court in Dade County, Florida isn’t the place where they can earn it. So before you stroll onboard the cruise liner read the fine print (yes, you did it to yourself by pandering to tort reformists) and make sure you understand and fully appreciate the risks you asked for and now get to assume.

Two hours later — at 4:40 a.m. — Marlene made her last emergency call. By this time, Marlene said Don was cold and his skin was very dark.

"I said, 'Somebody's got to get up here, I don't like what I'm seeing," she said. The records show a nurse arrived at 4:50 a.m.

The doctor was called at 5:00 a.m., but didn't arrive until 5:35 a.m. — two minutes after Don collapsed, according to records.

"I was probably five feet away from him on a chair and saw him die," said Marlene.

"My mom had to see the man she loved die on the floor in front of her because nobody would listen to her when she tried to say he was getting worse and worse," said Vaaga.

The autopsy report said Don died of a heart attack. It also noted that Don had pneumonia.

The Bryce family believes dehydration triggered Don's heart attack, questioning why he was never given IV fluids — especially since he had a history of heart trouble.

Then you threw out ALL YOUR LAWYERS with the tort reform bath water. And now all that is left are life jackets (manufactured in China) that don’t float. So let us get back to the lesson Mr. Niemoller taught with the following poem.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

The Nazi’s were very effective at distorting the truth and neutralizing any opposition. I rest my case.