Slippery Royal Caribbean Bar Floor Results in Nasty Fall And Severe Injury

Though cruise companies have been on notice about slippery floor hazards for years, they continue to frequently maintain their floors in a dangerously slippery condition. The plaintiff in the following lawsuit was enjoying her cruise vacation when she suddenly slipped and fell on a puddle of water, resulting in a severe knee injury. 

“On July 10, 2019, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) transported [The Plaintiff] from RCCL’s Majesty of the Seas to Coco Cay on an RCCL tender. [The Plaintiff] went to RCCL’s South Beach area. RCCL provided passengers, including [The Plaintiff], floating facilities including the floating bar which is located offshore RCCL’s ‘South Beach’ area. To get onto RCCL’s floating bar, passengers including [The Plaintiff] must swim to the bar and climb up an attached ladder. RCCL chose to put a rubber mat on the flooring left side of RCCL’s floating bar entrance but chose not to and/or failed to put a rubber mat on the flooring to the right of the floating bar’s entrance. [The Plaintiff] climbed onto RCCL’s bar, entered to the left, sat and had a beverage. [The Plaintiff] noticed another passenger enter the RCCL floating bar who walked to the right of the floating bar’s entrance. [The Plaintiff] witnessed this RCCL passenger slip and fall on the floating bar flooring. After witnessing the other RCCL passenger’s slip and fall, [The Plaintiff] left the floating bar and went into the water for approximately one hour.”  

“[The Plaintiff] returned to RCCL’s floating bar and walked to the right of the floating bar entrance. Unbeknownst to [The Plaintiff], RCCL allowed a three by two-foot puddle to accumulate on the floating bar flooring. RCCL allowed the large accumulation of water to remain on the floor for at least one hour. RCCL’s puddle caused [The Plaintiff] to slip and fall. 
 
Due to RCCL’s negligence, the Plaintiff’s slip and fall caused her to rupture her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. MRI revealed [The Plaintiff’s] anterior cruciate ligament was completely torn with pivot shift type bony injuries, a grade 1 injury of her medial collateral ligament and partial tear of her fibular collateral ligament. [The Plaintiff] underwent surgery to repair her knee which required months of physical therapy and post-operative nerve blocks to manage post-operative pain. [The Plaintiff’s] injuries are extremely painful and have caused and will continue to cause the Plaintiff severe disability and with a permanent impairment to the Plaintiff.”