A Florida jury awarded $4 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a former Disney Cruise Line employee who filed a personal injury case against the company. The lawsuit alleged that the cruise line’s medical staff failed to properly diagnose an injury the woman suffered in 2013 while in port, and as a result, wound up with serious nerve damage. Although counsel for Disney argued that it had fulfilled its duty of care toward the plaintiff under maritime law, a Florida jury disagreed, finding that the defendant did not provide adequate medical treatment.

The Incident

Maria M., a Portuguese national who was 32 years old at the time of her accident, was allegedly part of the waitstaff aboard the Disney Dream, an 1,100- foot vessel sailing between Cape Canaveral, Fla. and Nassau, Bahamas. In September 2013, Maria was struck by an automobile while ashore in Nassau. The ship physician examined her and determined that she was fit to return to duty, and she continued to serve meals to passengers for the next 10 days, despite ongoing pain.

When she returned to Cape Canaveral, another doctor discovered Maria had three broken ribs. Disney sent her back to Portugal for several months for treatment and recovery. She returned the following April, but left her job a month later due to chronic rib pain. When she returned home, a doctor in Portugal found Maria was suffering nerve damage. She filed her personal injury case against Disney in December 2015.

The Verdict

The Florida jury that heard the case reached its verdict after deliberating for just five hours, determining that the defendant was 70 percent liable for Maria’s injuries. Disney was ordered to pay the plaintiff $3 million for pain and suffering and lost wages and an additional $1 million in punitive damages. According to The Tampa Bay Times, this is the first time Disney has been on the losing end of a personal injury case involving a ship worker in a jury trial.

Disney has not commented on the case or indicated if it plans to appeal the verdict.

Carnival Also Sued in Injury Case

Disney Cruise Line is one of the few employers today that does not require its employees to sign arbitration agreements, but if an employee does file a lawsuit, it must be done either in Brevard County, Fla. or with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Carnival Cruise Lines has a different policy. Carnival waiter Genti J., an Albanian, suffered multiple spinal fractures when a handle came off the wall of his cabin as he was attempting to climb into his bunk. Like many companies, Carnival requires such disputes to be resolved through arbitration – a process that rarely goes well for employees.

Nonetheless, in September 2018, Genti won an arbitration award of $1.4 million, but Carnival refused to pay – so Genti took his case to a federal court in Florida. The judge ruled in Genti’s favor, ordering Carnival to pay the full amount, plus $186 per day in interest payments.