Woman fell after 14 shots of tequila on Carnival cruise ship. She sued and won

Miami Herald ^ | 04/14/2026 | Vinod Sreeharsha

[simpson96]

A California woman has won a lawsuit against cruise giant Carnival Corp., in which the Doral-based company was found negligent for serving her at least 14 shots of tequila in an 8 1/2-hour period and liable for subsequent injuries she suffered while inebriated onboard.

A Miami federal jury ruled in the passenger’s favor on April 10 and awarded her $300,000 in damages, according to a court document that entered the docket on April 13.

(snip)

A six-person jury agreed with the plaintiff’s argument that Carnival’s crew members had a duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of its passengers, and that included “the responsibility ... to supervise and/or assist passengers aboard the vessel who Carnival knew, or should have known, were engaging, or were likely to engage in behavior potentially dangerous to themselves or others abroad the vessel,” according to court documents.

When asked what percentage of the plaintiff’s injury was caused by each side, the jury wrote: 60% was the fault of Carnival and 40% the woman.

Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse who lives in Vacaville, California, was a passenger on the Carnival Radiance ship on Jan. 5, 2024, when she was served at least 14 shot of tequila in an 8 hour and 39 minute span, between approximately 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m.

“Due to her inebriated state that was caused by this over-service of alcohol ... D.S. suffered a severe fall” between 11:45 p.m and 20 minutes past midnight, the complaint said. Due to the fall, she “sustained severe injuries, including, but not limited to, a concussion, headaches, a possible traumatic brain injury, back injuries, tailbone injuries, bruising, and other injuries.”

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: carnival; carnivalcruise; cruise; tequila

[simpson96]

[simpson96]

Carniaval had “the responsibility ... to supervise and/or assist passengers aboard the vessel who Carnival knew, or should have known, were engaging, or were likely to engage in behavior potentially dangerous to themselves or others abroad the vessel,”

In other words, be a helicopter parent to each and every passenger, every waking minute. Yeah, that’s realistic.

[fwdude]

So, everyone has their personal babysitter?

[SkyDancer]

Personal responsibility is no longer around.

[fireman15]

Yes, our legal system has gone off the rails along with everything else in Blue States.

[Dr. Sivana]

the Doral-based company was found negligent for serving her at least 14 shots of tequila in an 8 1/2-hour period

That is fewer than two shots per hour. And there was a likely shift change in the middle. By the very end she would have had about six shots of Tequila left in her. Yeah, that's drunk for most women (not all), but probably fewer than 10% of the passengers on board. She should have had decent judgment about 3-4 hours into her binge.

[rhinohunter]

Meritocracy is dead.

[Magnum44]

[FlingWingFlyer]

Juries are getting more idiotic by the year. Just a way for low I.Q. employees to get some “down time” from their jobs.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

You’re exactly right.

[goodnesswins]

Well...karma may hit her, eventually

[daler]

That’s less than two shots per hour.

That wouldn’t even give me a buzz.

[I want the USA back]

Her fault! Her responsibility!

[PGR88]

A “jury of your peers” is often just the available pool of low IQ retards, who can be easily manipulated by skilled try lawyers, and who are available because they stay at home watching daytime TV

[The Duke]

Idiocracy 2.0

[algore]

lightweight. that is less than a fifth.

[V_TWIN]

“Her fault! Her responsibility!”

Agreed but awarding her $300,000 in damages is path of least resistance for the carnival.

They no doubt are insured for such jackassery and paying her off puts an end to any bad publicity.

Settling out of court is what a lot of businesses do to put an end to it but IMO all that does is embolden other scammers to see their own winning lottery ticket.

It should also be noted that this happened a while ago.

[Rockingham]

This ought not to be surprising. Most states have laws and court decisions that impose liability on bars and restaurants for over-serving alcohol.

[dfwgator]

Assuming to get a drink you have to present your cruise card, they should be able to track the number of drinks you ordered over a period of time.

[CatOwner]

It used to be, “Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes.” Now it’s, “Play stupid games. Win big prizes.”