Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog

Published on: October 2, 2024

At Least 180 Passengers Fell Ill Aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas. What Happened to Them?

Over 180 people were sickened with a suspected gastrointestinal illness while vacationing on a seven-day voyage aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas cruise ship, the Centers for Disease Control announced Monday.

As of Tuesday, the cause of an illness that led to 180 passengers becoming sick aboard the ship had not been released. A total of 2,172 passengers were on board at the time and the afflicted accounted for just over 8% of passengers.

Three of the over 800 crewmembers on the ship reported being sick. Since the illness was discovered, RCI and its working crew allegedly increased cleaning and disinfection procedures to combat the spread of the illness, made announcements to notify passengers of the outbreak and collected samples from the sick for testing.

Published on: September 30, 2024

Boy, 8, Evacuated from Cruise Ship in Medical Emergency This Week. Many Others Not So Lucky.

By Leesfield & Partners

An 8-year-old was, thankfully, evacuated from a cruise ship in a medical emergency this week after ship doctors determined he was suffering from appendicitis.

For many others who are suffering from medical emergencies such as strokes or heart attacks, a much-needed evacuation is not always on the docket. In many cases handled by Leesfield & Partners in its 48 decades of personal injury practice, many of these passengers are deterred from evacuation or denied altogether, resulting in further injury or death in entirely treatable situations.

What Happened?

Published on: September 18, 2024

Popular Tiktokers blasted online for allegedly leaving children alone in cruise cabins, monitoring them on FaceTime. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t a “parenting hack”

By Leesfield & Partners

Popular Tiktokers Matt & Abby Howard have come under fire for a video they posted to their millions of followers seemingly showing them leaving their toddlers in two separate cabins aboard a cruise ship so that they could enjoy dinner, child-free.

The video, posted to Abby Howard’s Instagram story which only appears for 24 hours before it vanishes, seemed to explain that the couple, who were on a seven-night cruise with family, was using FaceTime and baby monitors to check up on their boys, 1 and 2 years old, who they had allegedly left alone in two separate cabins.

“So we ended up taking them [to the cruise daycare] for 5 nights and it became apparent that they weren’t enjoying it and therefore we weren’t either,” Abby Howard wrote in the initial post. “So THEN we switched our dinner time to AFTER their bedtime and Facetimed the monitors while we ate. And that worked out muchhhh better for everyone.”

Published on: September 17, 2024

Boy Dies on Cruise Docked in Texas After Falling from Interior Balcony

By Leesfield & Partners

The FBI is investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy who plummeted to his death from an interior balcony aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

The boy died on Sept. 7 while traveling on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas for a seven-night cruise in the Western Caribbean. The ship was on its way to dock in Galveston, Texas, when the incident occurred. The boy fell into the ship’s Central Park area which the company describes online as a “gathering place” for passengers showcasing an array of plant life.

Investigators have not released any official details on how the boy fell.

Published on: September 17, 2024

Man accused of filming child in Florida mall restroom faces charges, police say. A Look at Similar Cruise Ship Cases.

By Leesfield & Partners

A 22-year-old man allegedly used a cell phone to take photos of a little girl in the women’s restroom of a Naples mall, the Naples Police Department said in a press release Monday.

David Sanabria, of unincorporated Collier County, was charged with video voyeurism and drug charges related to the incident. As of Tuesday morning, Sanabria remained in custody at the Collier County Jail, records show. Sanabria was given a court date of Oct. 7. Attorney details as well as information about a potential bond were not immediately available Tuesday.

The incident happened on Sept. 13 at the Coastland Center Mall, a shopping center featuring approximately 122 stores a movie theater and food court. Police who were patrolling the mall were approached by a minor who said that a man was taking photos of her in the women’s restroom from a neighboring bathroom stall. Police saw Sanabria exiting the women’s restroom and he was taken into custody, investigators said in the press release.

Published on: September 11, 2024

Florida Man Connected to “Autism on the Seas” Accused of Sexually Abusing a Minor on a Cruise Ship

By Leesfield & Partners

A Florida man allegedly contributing to at least two programs aimed to provide services for special needs children was charged after police accused him of sexually abusing a minor aboard a cruise ship in 2023.

James “Jamie” Grover, 62, of Volusia County, Florida, was charged with sexually abusing a minor after a search of his Deltona home in Volusia County, Florida, and of his workplace at the Seminole Town Center Mall in Sanford Thursday, according to local news outlets.

In reporting from 10 Tampa Bay, at least two mothers accused Grover of sexually abusing their children in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. At least one of the mothers said Grover committed a “sexual act” on her son while on a cruise in May of 2023.

Published on: September 6, 2024

Man Accused in Cruise Passenger’s Rape Faces Charges Following Weekend Cruise, Officials Say

By Leesfield & Partners

A Texas man who allegedly raped a woman on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas faced sexual battery charges and was taken into police custody when the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend, officials say.

The alleged attack took place on Aug. 28 with a 20-year-old woman stating to police that she was raped mid-cruise by the man.

The man, 28, was granted a $20,000 bond.

Published on: September 5, 2024

Doctor mistakenly removes man’s liver instead of his spleen. Now, his wife is planning to sue.

By Leesfield & Partners

The wife of a man who died during a surgery where his doctor removed his liver instead of his spleen is planning to sue, according to reporting from local news outlets.

The incident began when the man complained of feeling pain in his side while he and his wife visited their Florida rental property from Alabama. At the hospital, the man was allegedly planning to return to Alabama to see his usual doctor but was instead persuaded by a medical team in Florida to go ahead with the surgery, according to the family’s attorneys. Doctors are said to have “persuaded” him by explaining the potential risks that could arise if he delayed surgery.

A surgical pathology report listed the organ that was removed as a “grossly identifiable” liver that was partly torn. When removing the liver, the doctor tore blood vessels that caused “catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the wife’s attorneys said in a statement to local news outlets.

Published on: August 30, 2024

From a ‘Massive Brawl’ to Financial Crimes: A Look at Recent Criminal and Dangerous Activity Aboard Cruise Ships

By Leesfield & Partners

Four passengers on a four-day cruise from Miami face charges and others aboard Carnival Cruise Lines’ Freedom were accused of fighting, according to news outlets.

Two fights broke out during one of Carnival’s Freedom voyages from Port Canaveral. The first alleged fight took place Saturday in the ship’s nightclub between at least four people. When the ship docked in Bimini the next day, all four were escorted off the ship with their parties.

The second fight happened on one of the upper decks of the ship and included several people jumping into the brawl. It is unclear what started either fight. In footage of the second fight, a security guard can be seen stepping in to stop any further violence after much of the group that was brawling had already separated.

Published on: August 23, 2024

Largest cruise ship in the world makes headlines, stuns online viewers. Should passengers be wary of ‘floating cities?’

By Leesfield & Partners

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas continues to make headlines months after its inaugural sail and people are still talking about the enormity of it.

Though the ship has been sailing since the beginning of the year, a recent video featuring its arrival in Port Miami has gained traction online with many users asking “how does this thing manage to float?”

The answer can be found in most grade school science classrooms – buoyancy. When a massive ship such as the Icon of the Seas is hulking past seemingly without effort, it is because it is pushing aside water, displacing enough to equal its weight. Structural designs such as a U-shaped hull help the ship carve through the waves and displace water. The hull’s round edges reduce potential drag and keep the ship from rolling. When building the immense ‘floating cities’ we know as cruises today, engineers must take weight distribution into account. Ships that are bottom-heavy will sink while the opposite would cause the ship to be destabilized, increasing the probability it would topple over.