Vacation at Turks and Caicos Resort Ends in Airlift to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL
After reviewing many brochures and much planning, this resort and spa in the Turks and Caicos seemed like the perfect spot to spend a much anticipated vacation with friends. They seemed like the perfect couple, vibrant and active, involved in many activities and having a wide circle of friends with whom they socialized. She was an avid, competitive runner and a beautiful woman.
During the week that they vacationed at the resort, they took full advantage of the all-inclusiveness of the resort, including eating all of their meals at the resort’s various establishments.
Late one evening several days into their vacation, after having eaten with their friends on the resort property, the wife began to feel ill and began to experience severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, dizziness and abdominal cramps. She had contracted food poisoning.
Early the next morning, the wife rose from bed and attempted to walk to the bathroom within her room at the resort. When she stepped up onto the bathroom level, she fainted as a result of the food poisoning. She fell backward, striking her head on the tile floor. The blow to her head was so severe, the sound woke her husband. He ran to her side, to find her lying in a pool of blood, unresponsive to him. He called for help, and shortly after the doctor arrived, she lapsed into unconsciousness.
She was taken to a local clinic where she began vomiting blood. After clearing her airway, she was intubated and I.V.’s begun. She was subsequently airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had five craniectomies performed. Blood tests were positive for Shigella Flexneri, a bacteria spread by the transmission of fecal material.
She was in a coma for the several months she was at Jackson Memorial Hospital before her transfer to a hospital in Maryland to be near her family. She remained in a coma for approximately seven months. After awakening from the coma, she had suffered massive brain damage and left side paralysis. She has been transferred to several different hospitals for aggressive rehabilitation and continued stimulation. Her brain injury often caused her to be somewhat combative, making her resistant to therapy and even her personal care.
Sadly, this once energetic, outgoing lady now cannot bathe herself, dress herself, or even go to the bathroom on her own. She needs total assistance to perform these routine daily tasks. She cannot even chew gum without being monitored, due to the risk of aspiration. She remains apathetic and depressed and her weight has increased dramatically.
The husband has endured intense pain and suffering as a result of his wife’s injuries. He has watched his wife suffer through coma and slow rehabilitation, to her current condition. She continues to be verbally abusive and non-compliant. They were married for twelve years, following two and a half years of courtship. They were an active couple, living full lives in every way. He has lost his wife and struggles with his memories of her daily, while watching her current condition stabilize, knowing she will not improve.
After numerous hours of investigative research and negotiation, Attorney Jason D. Weisser successfully settled this case with the vacation resort for $2.6 million dollars. Of course, no amount of money will compensate this woman and her husband for everything they have been through and what they have lost. But it will assure that she will continue to be able to get the best care possible in a facility close to her loved ones.
