Carnival Cruise Line must pay a California woman $300,000 in a lawsuit over serving her 14 shots of tequila before she fell down a stairwell and was injured. File Photo courtesy of Carnival
Carnival Cruise Line must pay a California woman $300,000 in a lawsuit over serving her 14 shots of tequila before she fell down a stairwell and was injured.
A federal jury in Miami ruled earlier this week that Carnival was 60% responsible for Diana Sanders’ injuries on the Carnival Radiance in January 2024. Carnival said in a statement that it plans to appeal the decision.
Sanders, a nurse from Sacramento, was served 14 shots of tequila over the course of eight-and-a-half hours, the lawsuit alleges.
Sanders was “swaying, stammering, slurring her speech, had alcohol on her breath and she was acting belligerent,” yet crew members continued to serve her.
Sanders said that she blacked out and woke up at the bottom of a crew-only stairwell. She suffered a head injury and had bruises on her thighs and arms.
“They gave me conflicting information,” she said in a social media video posted by her attorney.
“They treated me like a criminal. I was very concerned they would not tell me exactly what happened to me,” her attorney said.
Sanders filed the lawsuit after Carnival refused to provide video of the incident.
The lawsuit said Sanders’ injuries were severe, “resulting in pain and suffering, disability, scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of independence, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment.”
“When you serve somebody who is visibly intoxicated repeatedly drink after drink after drink, it can lead to disastrous consequences,” said Spencer Aronfeld, Sanders’ attorney.
