Martin-Viana V. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.

In this premises liability case against Royal Caribbean Cruises, on July 26, 2024, the Florida jury returned a $5,612,000 verdict in favor of Eulalia Martin-Viana with 88% contributory negligence.

Case Background

On March 24, 2023, Eulalia Martin-Viana filed a premises liability lawsuit against Royal  Caribbean Cruises alleging negligence before the United States District Court, Florida Southern (Miami). This case was assigned to Judge Beth Bloom and referred to Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres for settlement. [Case number: 1:23cv21171]

Cause

On November 18, 2022, Eulalia Martin-Viana, along with her husband, children, and grandchildren, boarded the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas for a cruise from Miami, Florida to the Bahamas and back. Both Eulalia and her husband were paying passengers.

On November 19, 2022, around 6 A.M., Eulalia Martin-Viana woke up due to a malfunctioning air system in her suite. She went to the balcony to cool off by sitting on a chair. As she settled into the chair, the locking mechanism failed, causing her to fall backward. Her head struck the balcony’s sliding glass door.

Immediately, Eulalia experienced paralysis, losing the ability to move her arms, legs, or speak. After a few minutes, she regained her voice and called for help. The medical team arrived, and she was taken to the onboard medical facility, where she remained in severe pain and was still unable to move her limbs.

The ship’s medical team performed an X-ray, which did not reveal significant fractures or dislocations. They only provided pain medication for her condition. At approximately 5:15 P.M., Eulalia and her husband disembarked from the ship and transferred to an ambulance bound for the airport. They waited two hours for the medical helicopter to arrive.

By around 7 P.M., the helicopter transported Eulalia and her husband to a hospital in Tampa, Florida. X-rays at St. Joseph’s Hospital revealed fractures in her C5 and C6 vertebrae. Surgeons at St. Joseph’s performed operations on the C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae.

On December 8, 2022, Eulalia was transferred by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Miami, Florida. She was discharged from Mercy Hospital on January 4, 2023.

She filed this premises liability case seeking damages from the Defendant.

Injury

As a direct result of Royal Caribbean’s actions, the Plaintiff sustained severe injuries when the balcony chair collapsed due to a malfunctioning locking mechanism.

The Plaintiff experienced several injuries and damages due to Royal Caribbean’s negligence, including:

a) Physical injuries to the Plaintiff’s body.
b) Physical pain and suffering.
c) Mental and emotional distress.
d) Loss of enjoyment in life.
e) Disability.
f) Impairment.
g) Disruption in usual activities and pleasures.
h) Financial insecurity.
i) Medical expenses, both past and future.
j) Physical handicap.

Damages

The Plaintiff sought compensation for these damages, as well as any additional recoverable damages under general maritime law, and requested a jury trial.

Thus, Eulalia Martin-Viana respectfully asked the Court to rule against Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. She requested compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, court costs, and any other relief deemed appropriate under general maritime law or as the Court saw fit.

Key Arguments and Proceedings

Legal Representation

Claims

The Plaintiff suffered injuries due to the negligence and fault of Royal Caribbean. The Defendant had failed to inform her that the lounge chair on her balcony should not be used in a lie-flat position. As a result, Ms. Martin-Viana experienced and would continue to experience suffering due to this oversight.

Specifically, Royal Caribbean failed to:

a. Supervise its crew adequately.
b. Properly train its crew.
c. Provide enough crew members.
d. Maintain the vessel properly.
e. Supply adequate balcony furniture.
f. Ensure the furniture is safe.
g. Warn about defects in the furniture.

Royal Caribbean was aware of these issues but did not address them before the incident that caused Plaintiff’s injuries. These problems had been longstanding and evident to Royal Caribbean, suggesting they either knew or should have known about them.

Royal Caribbean should have known that the balcony chairs were unsafe due to their faulty locking mechanism, which made the chairs prone to collapsing. Despite this awareness, Royal Caribbean continued to use these chairs on the balconies of the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas suites.

Defense

Royal Caribbean Cruises denied the allegation of negligence. The Defendant denied responsibility for the Plaintiff’s accident, injury, or damages. The Plaintiff sued the Defendant, claiming the chair broke or failed. However, the chair was not broken. Instead, the Plaintiff lay down on the chair, pulled her legs onto the seat, and thrust backward. This action caused the chair to tip, as shown in the CCTV footage of the accident. Consequently, the Plaintiff was accountable for her own injury.

Fortunately, Royal Caribbean provided treatment onboard by its doctors and nurses. Additionally, Defendant covered the costs of transport to the Bahamas and a flight to Florida. As a result of the quality care the Plaintiff received, she was able to return to work full-time and did not require any ambulatory devices.

Expert Testimony

Various experts provided testimony on behalf of both parties. For the Plaintiff, experts included Leonard Backer, Dr. Carolyn Albert, Dr. Gelblum, Dr. Richard Seely, Dr. Shahan Yacoubian, Oscar Padron, Randall Jaques, and Susan McKenzie. These experts supported claims regarding the negligence, injuries, and failure of Royal Caribbean to ensure the safety of their balcony furniture and adequately supervise and train their crew.

On the defense side, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. presented Dr. Kenneth Fischer, Dr. Rolando Garcia, and Tyler Kress. These experts challenged the allegations, arguing that the chair involved in the incident was not defective and that the Plaintiff’s actions, as captured in CCTV footage, caused the accident.

The testimony from these experts played a crucial role in evaluating the negligence claims and the extent of responsibility in the incident.

Jury Verdict

On July 26, 2024, the Florida jury determined that there had been negligence both on Royal Caribbean Cruises and the Plaintiff’s part. The jury allocated 12% of negligence to the Defendant and 88% to the Plaintiff.

The jury determined the Plaintiff’s damages as below:

  • Past medical expenses: $600,000
  • Future medical expenses: $2,000,000
  • Past lost wages: $12,000
  • Past non-economic damages: $2,000,000
  • Future non-economic damages: $1,000,000

Therefore, a total of $5,612,000 was awarded to Eulalia Martin-Viana with 88% contributory negligence

Court Documents:

Available upon request