Nurse Wins $300K After Cruise Ship Fall
- A Northern California nurse was awarded damages after falling on a cruise ship following heavy alcohol service. - A jury awarded about $300,000, finding the cruise operator negligent after the nurse was served 15 shots in eight hours. - Verdict highlights cruise staff responsibility for guest intoxication and could affect operator policies and training (patch.com).
A federal jury in Miami ordered Carnival Cruise Line to pay $300,000 to a California nurse after finding the company negligent for overserving her alcohol before a fall. (abcnews.com) Jurors ruled on April 10 in favor of Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse from Vacaville, California, who was injured aboard the Carnival Radiance on January 5, 2024. The case was tried in federal court in South Florida, where many cruise ticket contracts send passenger injury claims. (abcnews.com, pacermonitor.com) According to the lawsuit, Sanders was served at least 14 shots of tequila between about 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m., then fell between 11:45 p.m. and 12:20 a.m. She said she woke up at the bottom of a crew-only stairwell with a head injury and bruises. (abcnews.com, cbsnews.com) The jury assigned 60% of the fault to Carnival and 40% to Sanders, a split that explains why the verdict centered on shared responsibility rather than a full win for either side. Sanders’ complaint said crew members kept serving her while she was visibly intoxicated. (cbsnews.com, yahoo.com) The case turns on a basic rule that applies on land and at sea: bars are not supposed to keep serving someone who is obviously drunk. Sanders argued that cruise staff had a duty to cut her off and help keep her safe once her condition was apparent. (cbsnews.com, abcnews.com) Cruise lines sell drink packages and run multiple bars on board, which can make it harder for one bartender to know what a passenger has already consumed. Sanders’ lawyers said she was served across several venues on the ship over roughly eight and a half hours. (cruise.blog, abcnews.com) Her attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, said jurors saw evidence that 30 minutes of surveillance video were missing from the period after Sanders left the casino bar and before she was found unconscious. Sanders said she sued after Carnival did not provide video showing exactly what happened. (abcnews.com, cbsnews.com) Carnival said it disagrees with the verdict and believes it has grounds for a new trial and an appeal. That means the $300,000 award may not be the final word, but the jury’s finding has already put the company’s alcohol-service practices under a court spotlight. (abcnews.com)
