Our client was a passenger aboard a major cruise ship when she slipped and fell on the wet tile floor surrounding the ship's adult pool deck. The surface was chronically wet from pool overflow -- a condition the cruise line was fully aware of. The cruise line's own warning signs posted around the pool area proved the point: they knew the floor became dangerously slippery when wet, they knew passengers would walk across it, and they chose to do nothing to fix it. Prior similar slip and fall incidents had occurred in the same area on the same class of vessel. Our client suffered a comminuted fracture of the right distal humerus with intracondylar extension -- one of the most complex fractures of the elbow -- requiring complex surgery with multiple plates and numerous screws. Mausner Group filed suit in the Southern District of Florida and the case settled for $300,000.
The cruise line's own conduct built the liability case. Warning signs posted around the pool area demonstrated the cruise line knew the floor was slippery when wet. Prior similar incidents on the same class of vessel documented a pattern of known danger the cruise line had failed to correct. The placement of seating, ladders, and amenities around the pool confirmed that the cruise line invited passengers to walk across a surface it knew was dangerous. Mausner Group filed suit in federal court in the Southern District of Florida and pursued claims for negligent failure to warn, negligent failure to maintain, and general negligence.
