Royal Caribbean Cruises Lawsuit: Florida Jury Awards $5.6M With 88% Contributory Negligence

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