Cruise control.
A passenger is suing a major cruise line for damages after stumbling over a mobility scooter. The high-seas tumble resulted in injuries that required surgery.
Florida woman Colleen Parson was traveling aboard Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas last June when the fateful fall allegedly went down.
Parson was walking through the onboard casino, which, according to the civil complaint, “was crowded with passengers…” and a precariously parked mobility scooter.
“Another passenger in the crowded casino bumped into [Parson] as she walked by, causing [her] to trip over the large mobility scooter which was parked near the crowded gaming tables,” the complaint alleges.
According to the incident report, the trip caused Parson “serious personal injury.”
She claims she suffered a “comminuted intraarticular fracture of the distal radius of the left wrist,” a type of fracture that occurs when the forearm bone near the thumb shatters into multiple pieces.
The fracture required “an open reduction internal fixation surgery” to restore joint alignment.
Parson described the injury she sustained during the incident as permanent and/or continuing in nature, including scarring.
However, Parson is not taking legal action against the owner of the errantly placed scooter, nor the passenger who bumped into her.
Parson is instead accusing Royal Caribbean of negligence and of failing to warn passengers of a hazard in the walkway.
Pason’s lawsuit also alleges that crew members aboard the 90,090 gross-ton ship failed to establish or enforce proper safety protocols for operating and parking mobility scooters.
Parson is demanding a trial by jury.
According to the lawsuit, she is seeking compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income, and the diminished enjoyment and value of her cruise vacation.
Parson is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.
Per Royal Caribbean’s Mobility Disabilities policy, stated on its website, “assistive devices, including mobility scooters, must be stored and recharged in your stateroom so fire doors, corridors, and elevator lobbies are kept clear for emergency evacuation. When parked throughout the ship, they must be parked out of the way to allow safe and easy access by other guests and crewmembers.”
Responding to the complaint, Royal Caribbean denied wrongdoing, placing the fault entirely on Parson and alleging she should have been more aware of her surroundings.
According to attorneys representing the cruise line: “The allegedly dangerous condition was open and obvious and should have been observed by [Parson] through the ordinary use of her senses.”
Royal Caribbean’s legal team doubled down, asserting that the passenger’s “own negligence was the sole proximate cause of her injuries and damages, and as such any damages are barred as a matter of law.”
The cruise line requested that the court enter a judgment in its favor and against Parson.
The Post has reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment.
This is not the first time this year Royal Caribbean has come under scrutiny for failure to protect its passengers.
In March, a California passenger filed a maritime personal injury lawsuit seeking damages of more than $75,000 after slipping and falling aboard Harmony of the Seas.
Other operators have been similarly affected by litigation.
Earlier this month, a Florida traveler who burned his bare feet on a scorching pool deck on a Carnival Cruise ship filed a $5 million lawsuit against the cruise line.
In April, a California nurse won a $300,000 lawsuit against Carnival Corporation after claiming bar staff had overserved her tequila, causing her to fall and severely injure herself.
Last year, two cruise ship passengers sued Carnival Cruise Line, claiming that they woke up covered in more than 30 bed bug bites during their ill-fated time aboard one of the corporation’s ships.
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