Woman Sues Cruise Liner Company Following Injury

By Daniel Hawn

Published on November 29, 2005

A woman from Westbrook, Connecticut filed a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines after she broke her tailbone during an activity aboard one of the company's cruise ships.

In August 2004, Theresa Arute attended a five-day cruise aboard a Carnival vessel that departed from Miami. While aboard the ship, she participated in a game in which a fellow passenger was told to pick her up, the suit states. As the passenger lifted Arute, he slipped, causing Arute to fall and break her tailbone, the slip and fall suit claims.

Although she agreed to a liability waiver prior to boarding the cruise, Arute claims that Carnival is obligated to compensate her for her injuries for a number of reasons.

The suit states that the sundeck area, where Arute was injured, had water on the floor from being used beforehand to make ice carvings. Arute says that Carnival employees were negligent in not ensuring that the floor was dry enough for passengers to participate in the activity in which she was injured. The suit further claims that despite the fact that alcohol was served on the ship, the Carnival employees did not determine whether the individuals involved in the activity were sufficiently sober to participate.

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