NorCal Nurse Wins $300K Cruise Award
- A Northern California nurse was awarded damages after being overserved alcohol on a cruise and suffering a fall. - A jury awarded the nurse roughly $300,000 after jurors found the cruise line liable for serving 15 shots. - The verdict underscores liability risks for operators who overserve passengers and raises safety policy questions (patch.com).
A Miami federal jury awarded $300,000 to a Vacaville nurse after finding Carnival Cruise Line negligent for overserving her tequila before a stairway fall. (abcnews.com) Jurors decided on April 11 that Carnival was liable for injuries Diana Sanders suffered on the Carnival Radiance, a ship sailing out of Los Angeles on January 5, 2024. Sanders, 45, was served at least 14 tequila shots between about 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m., according to the lawsuit. (abcnews.com) The complaint said Sanders fell sometime between 11:45 p.m. and 12:20 a.m. and suffered a concussion, headaches, possible traumatic brain injury, back injuries, tailbone injuries and bruising. Her lawyers said crew members kept serving her while she was visibly intoxicated. (cbsnews.com) The case turned on a basic duty-of-care question: whether a cruise line can be held responsible when its bartenders continue serving a passenger who is already impaired. The verdict put part of the blame on Sanders too, with multiple reports saying jurors found Carnival 60% responsible and Sanders 40% negligent. (news4jax.com) The lawsuit also focused attention on Carnival’s “Cheers!” package, which allows up to 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period. Sanders and two friends had bought that package for the three-day trip, according to reporting on the trial. (hawaiitribune-herald.com) Carnival said it disagrees with the verdict and plans to keep fighting the case. In a statement reported by local media, the company said it believes there are grounds for a new trial and an appeal. (news4jax.com) Sanders sued Carnival in 2024 after the cruise, and the trial added a second dispute beyond the drinking itself. Her complaint said Carnival wrongly told her the full incident was captured on surveillance video, which her lawyers argued limited her ability to investigate whether she had also been sexually assaulted. (nytimes.com) The award does not end the case if Carnival follows through on post-trial motions or an appeal. For now, the jury’s message was narrower: a passenger who drank heavily still convinced jurors that the cruise line bore the larger share of fault. (abcnews.com)
