When many people think about cruise ships, they think about an abundance of food and booze during the voyage. In the case of Diana Sanders, it was an overabundance of tequila shots that led to her falling down a flight of stairs and suffering “head injuries, bruising, emotional distress, and other ailments.”
After blacking out, Sanders said the crew “wouldn’t tell (her) exactly what happened,” so she lawyered up. According to her attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, Sanders had purchased the “Cheers!” package, which entitled her to “15 alcoholic beverages in a 24-hour period.” For Sanders, that meant that she was served 15 shots of tequila in just eight hours.
During discovery, Aronfeld’s team learned that Carnival’s “methods for tracking and monitoring alcohol service were insufficient.” While it’s true that a person makes a choice on what, and how much, booze they pour into their faces, the jury found that the cruise line also had a responsibility to have staff monitor how much customers are drinking at a given time and serve responsibly. In addition, Carnival failed to preserve security footage of the fall down the stairs that Sanders took as a result.
The Miami jury ended up awarding Sanders $300K.
