Lawsuits Filed Against Carnival Raise Issues of Liability and Passenger Safety

Mere weeks after Carnival passengers arrived in Mobile, Alabama, some have already hired attorneys and filed lawsuits against the mega-liner, alleging that the company should have better prepared for a mechanical failure that left 3,100 passengers and over 1,000 crew members stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for days without power or running water.  According to CNN, this situation “created a severe risk of injury, illness and/or disease.”

Carnival spokespeople have defended the actions of the crew, stating that ensuring passenger safety was paramount and that no one was injured during the ill-fated voyage. While transferring passengers to other vessels in open water presented safety concerns, allowing people to remain onboard a ship with no fresh water or power for nearly a week created a significant, if not greater, risk of injury in various forms.

Over the years, there have been numerous instances of contagious diseases on cruise ships.  These diseases spread quickly throughout self-contained vessels and imperil the lives of thousands of people.  That a life-threatening outbreak did not occur on the impaired ship was purely a matter of luck.