29/07/2025
On April 10, 2024, to celebrate her actual birthday day, I took my daughter to Little French Key (hereinafter referred to as “LFK”). We were passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas and purchased the transportation and entrance fee to LFK at the port from a 3rd party vendor. We did not sign any type of contract, release forms, or any other forms.
Mid-day, after walking around the island for a short while, we observed multiple other tourists visiting the jaguar cage, standing exactly where my daughter and I would eventually stand. We stood next to the cage where there was no barrier, whatsoever, admiring the animal, as the other guests had. With no warning, the jaguar suddenly growled and slammed itself against the cage, frightening us, causing me to lose my balance and begin to fall. As a natural response reaction, I reached out my arms to break my fall and the jaguar clawed at the fence and clasped its mouth over my fingers. I was trapped, my fingers caught in the clenched mouth of the animal, my daughter watching in horror while I screamed out in pain, begging for help. Workers came after a while and jabbed the jaguar with what looked like bamboo branches. It let go of my mangled hand and I was rushed out of LFK by some workers, bleeding profusely, screaming in pain the entire time.
I will put the rest of the comments in a bullet list to shorten reading time.
· 04.10.2024 Taken to Roatan clinic - doctor examined and cleaned hand, put dressing, put on strong pain medications
· 04.10.2024 Returned to ship where ship’s doctor examined me, gave me additional pain medications, and referred me to hospital
· 04.10.2024 Taken by ambulance to Hospital Wood Medical Center where I had emergency surgery (ripped tendons and nerves, mauled flesh and skin, severely crushed broken bone requiring pins (which have still not been removed)) - remained 04.10-13.2024 until I was stable enough to fly commercially back to US to be admitted into hospital
· 04.14-16.2024 Dallas, Texas hospital
· 04.17.2024 specialist hand surgeon
· 04.19.2024 2nd surgery
· 05.15-17.2024 inpatient hospital infection/3rd surgery artificial skin graft
· 06.06.2024 scheduled 4th surgery for possible actual skin graft and pin removal (hopefully)
· 04.30.2024-current (and estimated to continue 6 months more minimum) 3-5 days per week visits for painful occupational therapy, wound care, surgeon and infectious disease doctor visits
· Since 04.10.2024 I have been on 2 antibiotics, a now level 3 antifungal with bad side effects (increased from level 1), and pain medications – I will be on these until after my 4th surgery, with no as of now known stop date – these are taking a terrible toll on my physical well being
· I, and my daughter, are suffering tremendous post-traumatic stress
· I am suffering continuous, tremendous pain
· I have lost the use of my dominant hand and can work very little, neither at work or at home
· The doctors do not know yet how much function I will get back in my hand, if any. The two most important fingers for function (index/pointer and middle) are completely damaged and until all surgeries are performed and time has passed it is unknown if any will have to be amputated. Of the other 3 fingers, I have perhaps 30% movement which equivalates to 0 function. I do not yet know how bad the scarring will be. The index finger nail is totally avulsed (meaning it was totally torn off by the animal) and the doctor questions if it will ever grow back. So, I will be permanently disfigured and probably need, at minimum, a prosthetic.
Please note:
· At LFK I, nor my daughter, did not have food in our hands or bag
· I, nor my daughter, did not have a drink in our hands or bag
· I did not, in any manner whatsoever, voluntarily or knowingly put my hand/fingers near or on the cage fence
· I did have a bright yellow tote bag – one worker commented could that have stimulated the animal like a red cape to a bull?
· Many other tourists stood in this exact spot while we were there
· There exists no “moat” or any other barrier preventing the animal from going to the cage fence
· There is a large area where there is no barrier preventing people from going to the cage fence
· LFK should not allow any possibility, whatsoever, for the animal or a person to be close to the cage fence
· LFK has many areas in a state of disrepair
I have over US$137,000.00 of medical bills to date, which does not include the recent 3rd surgery, and am incurring a plethora of ancillary expenses. I have not been able to work beyond a bare minimum. I am not able to take care of my home and family members. I am suffering extreme pain, both physical and emotional. My daughter is suffering major emotional distress. I have had to cancel a May cruise vacation, a trip to see my elderly mother and miss her 85th birthday, I also could not fly to see her when she was rushed to the hospital last week, I am having to cancel visiting my other daughter in June, am unable to go see my daughter who was in Roatan during this traumatic event and needs my support, and I will probably have to cancel other trips. I will forever be scarred by this, physically and emotionally. I may never gain full, or even partial, function of my dominant hand.
I would like to sue LFK, as would my daughter. I would hope LFK carries a good liability insurance policy. LFK is definitely negligent in allowing the opportunity for this to have happened.
I have pictures of my hand after the attack. I am mentally unable to look at them. I just can’t. As I cannot attach them without seeing them, I will forward you the email that shows the hand after the attack. By forwarding it separately, I will not see them.
