TORONTO, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A Canadian woman blames poor medical care on a trans-Atlantic cruise for her husband's death from a heart attack in April.
Bernard Hamilton, 66, died in a Spanish hospital about three weeks after the heart attack. Hamilton, who had dreamed for years of traveling by ship across the Atlantic, became ill on board a Holland America line vessel.
Heather Hamilton of St. Catherine's, Ontario, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. a ship's doctor misdiagnosed her husband's symptoms first as a cold and then as asthma. He prescribed a drug with an unfortunate side effect, making the heart beat faster.
She said the treatment was worse after the attack. Two crew members who came to their cabin with a defibrillator did not know how to use it.
She performed CPR on her husband while the crew members read the instructions.
Bernard Hamilton was declared brain dead at the hospital.
Heather Hamilton said all she has received from the cruise line is a bill for her husband's medical care.
Philip Gerson, a Miami lawyer specializing in maritime law, said cruise lines advertise quality medical care on board. But he said they do not tell passengers that under maritime law, their medical staffers are considered independent contractors and cruise lines are not legally responsible for their actions.
"The cruise line does not make its decisions based upon the welfare of the passengers," Gerson told CBC. "It's only the 'love boat' up until something bad happens."
