Ira Leesfield Reaches Confidential Settlement with Cruise Line over Death of Passenger

Ira Leesfield and Mark Sylvester filed a lawsuit on behalf of a surviving spouse for the death of her husband, who died after being abandoned by the cruise line in a make shift medical clinic in a foreign country.

On the second day of a seven day cruise, John Doe began vomiting blood. He presented to the ship's infirmary, however, instead of receiving life saving medical care, or being evacuated to a proper medical facility; the ship's doctor and Captain made the decision to place him and his wife in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean, in the dark of night, and transport them to a coastal village in a foreign country. In desperate need of a blood transfusion, John Doe was brought to a make shift medical facility where there was no blood immediately available. When the blood arrived, it was frozen and had to be thawed under heat lamps. As he lay on a gurney, with his wife at his side, John Doe died.

This awful event was even more tragic because this elderly couple spent their lives helping other people. When this couple went into retirement, they served as missionaries traveling throughout North America in their mobile home to various Christian ministries providing carpentry, plumbing, painting, electrical help, as well as tutoring to the poor and needy. Sadly, when they needed help, no one was there for them.

Ira Leesfield and Mark A. Sylvester fought for justice and were able to reach a confidential settlement with the cruise line. In addition, the cruise line assured our client that because of this tragedy measures had been taken to ensure that an event like this would never happen again.