Carnival loses "slip-and-fall" lawsuit

[tef43]

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2011/05/articles/passenger-rights/slip-and-fall-on-carnival-cruise-ship-results-in-2998000-verdict/

[BeccaBecca1713]

Wow, I guess we can all expect higher drink prices to offset this judgement.:rolleyes:

[Justsyd]

While I feel for the woman who slipped by accident, I feel that the settlement is absolutely absurd!

[MrBreeze]

Passenger safety should always be the top priority.

[H82seaUgo]

a cone saying piso mojado didn't cover them?

[patseacruiser]

I'm making a note of their lawyer in case I ever need a good slip and fall guy.

[glrounds]

I thought the settlement was quite fair, actually. None of the amounts seemed out of the ordinary. Not having ALL THE FACTS in the case makes it difficult for any of us to look at it very objectively, I'll concede.

 

This can and most likely will be appealed. It will drag on for some time IMHO. Finally, if and when it is paid it will have already been absorbed into Carnival's bottom line. 20 some ships multiplied by 52 weeks per year since 2009 . . . its peanuts by comparison to Carnival's gross receipts.

 

And, dawgonnit, those decks are slipperier than cat poop. :D

[H82seaUgo]

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2011/05/articles/passenger-rights/slip-and-fall-on-carnival-cruise-ship-results-in-2998000-verdict/

 

too bad the article doesn't mention what was on her feet, if in fact she is a bipod.

[misguidedangel]

I agree, the settlement is ridiculous, but the judge also knows it will go to appeal and be reduced by 2/3.....

 

If I notice the deck is a little slick, I walk accordingly--carefully to avoid falling......

[uppitycats]

A "win" and a "settlement" are two different legal things. In this case, the plaintiff WON the lawsuit...it was not "settled" between the plaintiff and Carnival. The OP did indeed say "won"...some other folks in this thread started using "settled"..which would be incorrect.

 

And without knowing all the facts, it would be hard to say that it will set any sort of precedent for other such suits in the future. The very brief summary *does* say that Carnival was aware that the surface was very slippery...apparently unusually so, for a surface surrounding a pool.

[halos]

I won't comment on this particular case BUT I will say that not just CCL but all ships I have been on (except, I think for Celebrity...I don't recall that being slippery...) have decking around the pools that is like ice when wet.

I do NOT understand that at all.

[mrmrs2]

I feel sorry for her. Sometimes accidents are unavoidable. I would think that if you could avoid a slip and fall you would, but often times, this is not possible. :confused:

[skylock]

I have seen many falls around the pool. I have slipped before but did not fall and i wear "good" shoes. They do need to do something around the pool to make it less slippery.

[LucyR.]

I told my adult son that my greatest fear on cruise ships is falling down and getting injured. I have seen some serious accidents on ships when people fall down the stairs or just walking around the outside decks.

 

One lady I knew slipped as she walked out onto the outside deck.

She fell and broke a part of her leg in half. That was a serious injury. I don't know if she ever sued Carnival. That type of fall can happen to anybody.

 

I try to avoid the stairs as much as possible. I hold on with two hands when I do have to walk up or down the stairs. I just don't want to fall

if my foot gets caught on something or I miss a step.

 

I prefer to stay safe than get injured on a ship. They can keep their money. My health is more important.

[ManyMore]

It was only a matter of time given all the falls I have seen there and fell once myself. "If" money is ever paid out it will mostly likely come from Carnivals insurance company.

[BeachChik]

While I feel for the woman who slipped by accident, I feel that the settlement is absolutely absurd!

 

Why? The article says she has had six operations and more to follow. That's pretty bad. I was in a car accident. Spent 5 days in the hospital, had surgery, 3 weeks missed work and had to use a walker for about a month and a half. That was 5 years ago and I still have pain from it. Accidents can affect your life forever. How do you put a dollar amount on permanant pain and suffering?

 

I bet 99% of people would do exactly as she did. Sue and the court determines the amount.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Carnival will no doubt appeal. Nothing has been won or lost except on paper.

[Justsyd]

Why? The article says she has had six operations and more to follow. That's pretty bad. I was in a car accident. Spent 5 days in the hospital, had surgery, 3 weeks missed work and had to use a walker for about a month and a half. That was 5 years ago and I still have pain from it. Accidents can affect your life forever. How do you put a dollar amount on permanant pain and suffering?

 

I bet 99% of people would do exactly as she did. Sue and the court determines the amount.

 

That's a good question. How do you? As I said, I feel sorry for her accident. I continue to feel that the award is absurd. You can't put a dollar amount on any type of pain and suffering, but you can award a reasonable amount for an accident. To me, the amount is not reasonable.

[tef43]

While I feel for the woman who slipped by accident, I feel that the settlement is absolutely absurd!

Not a "settlement," but damages awarded by the Court after trial.

[hubofhockey]

Sounds to me like this judge was upset that Carnival didn't act as the result of prior accidents and put this passenger and future passengers at risk. This award is meant to force Carnival to do something about it.

[halos]

Sounds to me like this judge was upset that Carnival didn't act as the result of prior accidents and put this passenger and future passengers at risk. This award is meant to force Carnival to do something about it.

 

Yep...exactly.

[BeachChik]

That's a good question. How do you? As I said, I feel sorry for her accident. I continue to feel that the award is absurd. You can't put a dollar amount on any type of pain and suffering, but you can award a reasonable amount for an accident. To me, the amount is not reasonable.

 

We don't know her specifics to know for sure. But the cost of multiple operations can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Assuming she has insurance why should they foot the bill? Has she missed work? Plus the unknown of what future medical procedures might cost. I don't know if the amount is reasonable or not, but you might feel different if you were in her shoes. Or would you tell the judge no thanks to 2 million? Somehow I doubt it.

[Jolimont]

That seems like a lot of money to me, but she proved her case in court and won fair and square. Individuals don't often win against a large corporation, there must have been quite a lot of evidence in her favor.

[donaldsc]

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2011/05/articles/passenger-rights/slip-and-fall-on-carnival-cruise-ship-results-in-2998000-verdict/

 

A jury is normally composed of 12 ignorant people who figure that it is not their money so "lets hurt the cruise line where it counts." By the time the appeals are over and the lawyers get their cut, she will be lucky to get $20,000 which is probably what she was offered in a settlement at the beginning.

 

DON

[billie5]

Actually, she did not prove her case in court. During discovery Carnival admitted liability. That is why the trial was only to set the amount. Appeal is not terribly likely in such a case unless a point of law is being contested.

 

Bill