What do you think?

[RLM77]

This thread from the Celebrity board is really interesting and sheds light on legal actions which could impact us disabled individuals.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1395469

[Lady Jane]

From all that I've read, I suspect this person was out to "get the big bad cruise company." Reminds me of the person who sued McDonald's because the hot coffee she ordered burned her when she spilled it on herself!

[etoile]

I don't think so at all. I think HE believes he has a legitimate complaint.

 

However, he failed to understand the butler's role. It most certainly is NOT their job to assist pax into/out of the restroom and their wheelchairs. I think "can't touch you" is overstating it, because I tripped once and they certainly helped me up, but it is NOT the crew's job to be your caregiver.

 

There are companies that offer services like what this guy needed. Upgrading to Concierge Class is NOT how you get those services. "I paid more for those services" is going to be flat-out denied in court, because he misunderstood the butler's role.

 

Again, I don't get the sense that he's out for a quick buck, I think he feels genuinely wronged. But he's going to lose anyway.

[etoile]

More information, very important to the story:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4446

[Umbarger]

Ridiculous. A cruise lines don't help people on and off the toilet and doesn't help them bathe. Everyone knows that. He could have continued on the cruise but he decided not to hire a nurse as the cruise line requested.

[GRBlizz]

Thanks for posting that story, Etoile. I have cruised in the accessible Sky Suite he apparently had, and there is NO barrier between the cabin and the bathroom. My DH has MS, too, and he had no problem navigating in and out of the restroom with his manual chair. (There was a high lip to the balcony, but that wasn't part of this story.)

 

At first, I couldn't even believe that this man would even WANT the crew to deal with him when he was unclothed (as in the bathroom). But then I read it was a nude cruise, so perhaps he thinks it's normal to be around strangers when in the nude. Ewwwwww.

 

What really, really frosted me is that he said that the cruise line should have known he needed help with personal care, because they could see he was in a wheelchair. WHAT?!?!?!? That kind of thinking flies in the face of all the people who have worked hard to become independent despite mobility challenges.

 

Really a shame that this guy is being portrayed as a hero for the rights of disabled passengers.

[QuickieGlenn]

The guy is a A$$. He knew what he could & could not do & expected people to help him & his BUTLER. He should have never gone without a aid and when the cruise line called him on it he started to act like the poor guy in a wheelchair. I am a full time WC user and love cruising. I never want pity, I am just a guy who can't walk to well (or not all all). I hope he doesn't get a dime

[MandD]

From all that I've read, I suspect this person was out to "get the big bad cruise company." Reminds me of the person who sued McDonald's because the hot coffee she ordered burned her when she spilled it on herself!

 

Yes, but the jury awarded her 2.7 million :eek:

 

(how many cruises is that? lol)

[kitty9]

Yes, but the jury awarded her 2.7 million :eek:

 

(how many cruises is that? lol)

 

No, the coffee woman got $600K.

[msbask]

No, the coffee woman got $600K.

 

No one cares about the fact when they bring up that case. All the misinformation that ignorant people spread about that case is really disheartening.

[missypriss19]

I dont know about this cruise line but on Carnival it clearly states that you must bring your own help and that Carnival employees are not your nurse.

This man is apparently not stupid. I think he is out for plublicity or money

[l2c]

I actually doubt that the gentleman does not have at least some help at home...that he thought cruise staff - who are not even trained to act as nurses or aides - would be there for him is hard to believe!

[kitty9]

What's really sad is, this man is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a number of individuals who are filing frivolous lawsuits that stretch the meaning of the ADA. And, those people are eventually going to cause a backlash against all us disabled.

 

There's a man in California who's filed more than 400 lawsuits against small business owners, many of whom have lost their businesses because they cannot fight the suits and lose tens of thousands of dollars. He and his lawyers have made a boatload of cash, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thank heaven, the US Supreme Court recently put a stop to this man and his "extortionist" suits. Then there's the man who's a double amputee in NYC, who has filed more than 80 lawsuits, in less than a year. Now here's the interesting part of that story-----the man claims to be an Hasidic Jew, but quite a number of his suits are for places that a person of that belief are not supposed to be, such as bars, massage parlors, strip clubs and non-kosher dining establishments. And he recently filed a suit against a small pedicure business, despite the fact that he has no feet. If he finds one tiny thing wrong, he files a suit. He just wheels around looking for things he doesn't like. People like the nude cruising guy and these other people are using the ADA to get rich, and that really angers me.