Carnival loses "slip-and-fall" lawsuit

[gemsm]

[quote name='fireofficer5']Money is the only way to make a corporation suffer.
CCL will probally still not fix the slippery decks.
Wood decks would be best.[/QUOTE]

Not to be argumentative but aren't wood decks just as slippery when wet? I remember a friend of mine having a boat with a teak deck and when we would go fishing if you didn't have your docksiders on you went slip sliding away when the deck got wet. But maybe that was just because it was teak?

I would think that the tiles they put in the lido should have been put everywhere on the deck.

[flcruiser4]

[quote name='tiyana4']WOW! That is just awful what happened to your friend. She sounds like a trooper for wanting to cruise again after such a bittersweet verdict. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend how difficult the road to recovery can be until it either happens to them or someone close to them. I agree with you and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

For those who lack empathy... I guess there will always be people who are just insensitive.[/quote]

No one lacks empathy- it's about being fair. Receiving millions of dollars from a lawsuit just for your pain and suffering (not talking about lost income, medical expenses, out of pocket money spent, counseling, etc) is not "fair", it's an exaggeration. Guess what? The company paying it out probably doesn't really care. They will just raise their prices to cover the losses, so you and I pay for their frivolous law suits. I wonder how much lower auto insurance premiums would be if people weren't awarded such ridiculous amounts of money just because they can? Payouts should be limited to economic damages- past, present, and future. I do not understand why pain/suffering has a price tag.

I know someone that was in a minor car accident (passenger). He was not hurt, felt no pain, and really didn't think anything of it. A few days later he mentioned it to a friend of his who told him to call his attorney. When this guy asked why, the friend told him you can *entitled* to compensation from the insurance company for being in an accident. The guy told him he was not injured and did not understand. Well, he called that attorney and a few months later had $15k in his hands.

[Laurie S.]

[quote name='halos']No, the way I see it is CCL (and maybe others lines too) will choose better decking when building new ships and possibly do something about the slippery decking they have.



I did read your post and I find it amazing how YOU personally know this woman's body and what she has gone through....
and I find it disturbing how you can equate the injury of a 4 year old to an adult.

Thank God someone gets it!

Listen, I hate law suits and (forgive me) lawyers just as much as anyone and I am a total believer in people being responsible for their own actions and I do think we live in a society where everyone seems to need to cast blame and sue everyone for everything...however, these decks are notoriously slick. Something should be done about it.
I am super cautious when walking on any wet areas around the ship and I hate having to think about every step I take...it's a nuisance to be honest. I also think that if you are in an atmosphere where drinking alcohol is pretty much what everyone is doing, as a business you have to be responsible as well.
If any other business in the US had floors that slick, they'd be cited for it.
This is in no way shape or form the same as the coffee/McDonalds thing.[/quote]


No, you obviously didn't read what I posted, you read what you wanted to. I not only broke one patella as a child, I broke the other as an adult in a skiing accident. I know what it's like to have that injury and I didn't deserve $3 million because the snow was slippery.

I also would be curious how she managed to break the knee slipping on the deck. The most likely fall on a slippery surface would be backwards or to the side and not straight down onto your knees.

I do agree that all care should be taken by Carnival to lessen the slipperiness of the deck surface. I don't want to see anyone injured and I don't want to be paying more because of their insurance premiums going up as a result of ridiculous awards. And, they will.

[flcruiser4]

[quote name='Laurie S.']No, you obviously didn't read what I posted, you read what you wanted to. I not only broke one patella as a child, I broke the other as an adult in a skiing accident. I know what it's like to have that injury and I didn't deserve $3 million because the snow was slippery.

I also would be curious how she managed to break the knee slipping on the deck. The most likely fall on a slippery surface would be backwards or to the side and not straight down onto your knees.

I do agree that all care should be taken by Carnival to lessen the slipperiness of the deck surface. I don't want to see anyone injured and I don't want to be paying more because of their insurance premiums going up as a result of ridiculous awards. And, they will.[/quote]

Exactly.

[halos]

[quote name='Laurie S.']No, you obviously didn't read what I posted, you read what you wanted to. I not only broke one patella as a child, I broke the other as an adult in a skiing accident. I know what it's like to have that injury and I didn't deserve $3 million because the snow was slippery.

[/quote]

You know nothing of this woman's health history...for you to assume everyone should heal like you is just bizarre.
Also, when you are skiing, you are well aware of slipping because that is the nature of the sport. To compare the two is also bizarre.
I too had a skiing injury once...tore my achilles tendon....it sucked big time....healing took forever, I couldn't get my foot in a closed shoe for 6 months and since I worked as a hairdresser on my feet 12 hours a day, the recovery was painful and exceptionally long, even though I was very young. I didn't consider suing either, but I certainly would consider it if I were in the position of the woman in the article, because this is totally different. There is a huge difference between CCL's negligence and a sport injury.

as far as CCL raising your fares, I wouldn't worry. They don't raise fares, they just make cuts.

[tiyana4]

[quote name='flcruiser4']No one lacks empathy- [COLOR=red][B]it's about being fair[/B][/COLOR]. Receiving millions of dollars from a lawsuit just for your pain and suffering (not talking about lost income, medical expenses, out of pocket money spent, counseling, etc) is not "fair", it's an exaggeration. Guess what? The company paying it out probably doesn't really care. They will just raise their prices to cover the losses, so you and I pay for their frivolous law suits. I wonder how much lower auto insurance premiums would be if people weren't awarded such ridiculous amounts of money just because they can? Payouts should be limited to economic damages- past, present, and future. I do not understand why pain/suffering has a price tag.[/quote]

Empathetic or not, it is not up to you or I to decide what's fair. Obviously the judge thought it was fair in this case and ruled accordingly.

[gemsm]

[quote name='flcruiser4']No one lacks empathy- it's about being fair. Receiving millions of dollars from a lawsuit just for your pain and suffering (not talking about lost income, medical expenses, out of pocket money spent, counseling, etc) is not "fair", it's an exaggeration. Guess what? The company paying it out probably doesn't really care. They will just raise their prices to cover the losses, so you and I pay for their frivolous law suits. I wonder how much lower auto insurance premiums would be if people weren't awarded such ridiculous amounts of money just because they can? Payouts should be limited to economic damages- past, present, and future. I do not understand why pain/suffering has a price tag.

I know someone that was in a minor car accident (passenger). He was not hurt, felt no pain, and really didn't think anything of it. A few days later he mentioned it to a friend of his who told him to call his attorney. When this guy asked why, the friend told him you can *entitled* to compensation from the insurance company for being in an accident. The guy told him he was not injured and did not understand. Well, he called that attorney and a few months later had $15k in his hands.[/QUOTE]

You do understand that "non-economic" pain and suffering damages does include out of pocket money spent right? Or are you not savvy as to what they consider economic vs. non-economic damages. If the person being injured can no longer walk and is now wheelchair bound...that is considered a loss of quality of life NON ECONOMIC damage.

If the person that had the accident was an avid square dancer the fact that they can't square dance anymore is a NON ECONOMIC damage.

As for your friend with the 15K I don't think anyone would argue that as a valid lawsuit as he had no injuries but this woman broke her kneecap, has had 6 surgeries, and will need more in her lifetime. That is all we know. We don't know her age, occupation, hobbies, quality of life before the accident, quality of life after the accident so how can any one of us including you say that this is an egregious, unfair, and frivolous lawsuit.

Don't think we can.

[MissDiva1]

[quote name='camperhawk']No of course not, my insurance did! [B]Accidents happen[/B][/quote]

Yes they do but [B]most[/B] can be avoided. I agree with others that hopefully Carnival makes an effort to make it safer around the pools and other areas of concern.
Glad she got a good chunk for all she went thru.

[flcruiser4]

[quote name='gemsm']You do understand that "non-economic" pain and suffering damages does include out of pocket money spent right? Or are you not savvy as to what they consider economic vs. non-economic damages. If the person being injured can no longer walk and is now wheelchair bound...that is considered a loss of quality of life NON ECONOMIC damage.

If the person that had the accident was an avid square dancer the fact that they can't square dance anymore is a NON ECONOMIC damage.

As for your friend with the 15K I don't think anyone would argue that as a valid lawsuit as he had no injuries but this woman broke her kneecap, has had 6 surgeries, and will need more in her lifetime. That is all we know. We don't know her age, occupation, hobbies, quality of life before the accident, quality of life after the accident so how can any one of us including you say that this is an egregious, unfair, and frivolous lawsuit.

Don't think we can.[/quote]

How is being wheel chair bound going to cost them additional out of pocket money? The loss of income and cost of wheelchair, medical bills, modifications to house/car, etc get accounted for separately and are not included in this non-economic damages bucket. Same thing with the square dancer. How is being in a wheel chair costing them money in relation to their hobby?

Non-economic damages:
Non-economic damages are damages for things such as pain, suffering, and loss of companionship. Non-economic damages can be compared to economic damages, such as loss of wages, medical bills, and damage to property. [B]Economic damages have specific monetary values, whereas non-economic damages do not.[/B]

And the point I was trying to make is that just like he got money he did not deserve, I believe this lady did as well. Yes she was injured, but the award was excessive.

[gemsm]

[quote name='flcruiser4']How is being wheel chair bound going to cost them additional out of pocket money? The loss of income and cost of wheelchair, medical bills, modifications to house/car, etc get accounted for separately and are not included in this non-economic damages bucket. Same thing with the square dancer. How is being in a wheel chair costing them money in relation to their hobby?

Non-economic damages:
Non-economic damages are damages for things such as pain, suffering, and loss of companionship. Non-economic damages can be compared to economic damages, such as loss of wages, medical bills, and damage to property. [B]Economic damages have specific
monetary values, whereas non-economic damages do not.[/B]

And the point I was trying to make is that just like he got money he did not deserve, I believe this lady did as well. Yes she was injured, but the award was excessive.[/QUOTE]

Well lets see included in my "non-economic damages bucket"....Loss of consortium, rental car that was not included in my car insurance premium, cost to replace my pants that got ruined in the accident, cost of medical devices, cost of approx 2000.00 for a vacation that I didn't get to go on due to the injuries sustained in the accident. Even though these items have a fixed dollar amount they are not included in the medical bills, lost wages buckets and therefore are considered in the "pain, suffering, loss of companionship, loss of quality of life" bucket.

Welcome to personal injury law 101. Where we now learn that you have no idea what you are talking about therefore you have no way of knowing if her award was excessive. Which is the point I was trying to make

[Tatka]

3 years ago while cruising on Caribbean Princess I fell near the pool due to slippery floor right before the sailaway. In the next couple of minutes my arm got swollen (huge). We avoided going to the doctor's office because of potentially high cost and used ice and towel. Now I am thinking they would probably treat me for free to avoid legal problems.

[MissDiva1]

[quote name='Tatka']3 years ago while cruising on Caribbean Princess I fell near the pool due to slippery floor right before the sailaway. In the next couple of minutes my arm got swollen (huge). We avoided going to the doctor's office because of potentially high cost and used ice and towel. [B]Now I am thinking they would probably treat me for free [/B]to avoid legal problems.[/quote]

Yes they would have. I broke my hand last December on the Spirit and they waved all medical fees.........even though they said it was not broken:rolleyes:

[halos]

[quote name='MissDiva1'] I broke my hand last December on the Spirit and they waved all medical fees [/quote] Ouch :eek:
[quote name='MissDiva1']......... even though they said it was not broken:rolleyes: [/quote] Double Ouch :eek::eek:

[arpie05]

I knew a woman that worked at a hospital as a therapist that fell by the therapy pool and shattered her knee. She slipped on some water. She got a lot of money. Not saying it's right or wrong.

[flcruiser4]

[quote name='gemsm']Well lets see included in my "non-economic damages bucket"....Loss of consortium, rental car that was not included in my car insurance premium, cost to replace my pants that got ruined in the accident, cost of medical devices, cost of approx 2000.00 for a vacation that I didn't get to go on due to the injuries sustained in the accident. Even though these items have a fixed dollar amount they are not included in the medical bills, lost wages buckets and therefore are considered in the "pain, suffering, loss of companionship, loss of quality of life" bucket.

Welcome to personal injury law 101. Where we now learn that you have no idea what you are talking about therefore you have no way of knowing if her award was excessive. Which is the point I was trying to make[/quote]

Cost of medical devices? Rental car? That is your attorney's fault. I know much more about law than you do. Everyone I know who was ever sued for a car accident got every dime of their medical expenses, rental cars, etc paid under the economic damages categories. What they got for pain and suffering/non-economic damages was literally free money in their pockets. Next time hire a better attorney.

[beach410]

[quote name='Laurie S.']No, you obviously didn't read what I posted, you read what you wanted to. I not only broke one patella as a child, I broke the other as an adult in a skiing accident. I know what it's like to have that injury and I didn't deserve $3 million because the snow was slippery.

I also would be curious how she managed to break the knee slipping on the deck. The most likely fall on a slippery surface would be backwards or to the side and not straight down onto your knees.

I do agree that all care should be taken by Carnival to lessen the slipperiness of the deck surface. I don't want to see anyone injured and I don't want to be paying more because of their insurance premiums going up as a result of ridiculous awards. And, they will.[/QUOTE]



You're curious how someone could shatter a knee while slipping?! Most likely a lot of falls are on the rear, so lawsuits don't often occur because they don't see many shattered knees, however, for this woman and my SIL this wasn't the case, my SIL slipped landed directly on her knee with such impact, that she didn't just break it, but shattered it, and FYI... She's petite and not overweight, just unlucky. Don't blame her for Carnivals mistakes and costs to cover them. She was told later on that Carnival did take steps to alleviate this problem by putting down a blue rubber matting through this walk way on the lido deck on the Sensation. She was on her way to meet us to go snorkeling in Nassau, she did not make it.

[futaba951]

If this judge's ruling stands, Carnival will probably set up a structured settlement over 20 years where it costs them nothing, as interest will pay the settlement, and the woman will get so little money annually as to be nearly useless to her. Unless she calls J.G. Wentworth because she needs her money NOW!! :)

[DGP1111]

[quote name='halos'] . . . as far as CCL raising your fares, I wouldn't worry. They don't raise fares, they just make cuts.[/quote]

[SIZE=3][COLOR=darkred]Oh, snap[B][I]!![/I][/B] :D :D[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=white].[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=white].[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[gemsm]

[quote name='flcruiser4']Cost of medical devices? Rental car? That is your attorney's fault. I know much more about law than you do. Everyone I know who was ever sued for a car accident got every dime of their medical expenses, rental cars, etc paid under the economic damages categories. What they got for pain and suffering/non-economic damages was literally free money in their pockets. Next time hire a better attorney.[/QUOTE]

Yeah sure ya do...like I said if you are an attorney you suck at it

[bigfig63]

Just to avoid this in the future, and because the majority of human bipeds carry their center of gravity in the upper 1/3 of their body, Carnival should move all passengers on board via wheel chair to the location of their choice durng the cruise. There WILL be extra attendants to stabilize said passenger when moving from wheel chair to location of preference and vice versa. Passengers are NOT allowed to transverse any of the public or private areas in a vertical position and must present themselves in their lowest center of gravity whilst on board.

No beverage will be served warmer then 72 F and colder then 70 F. Pools will be permanently closed due to the possibility of drowing. A permanent enclosed shell we be affixed to any open area to avoid falling overboard. There WILL be no casino on this crusie as the increased heart rate of winning or losing may cause cardiac tachycardia that may lead to a MI.

Better yet, cruise is cancelled, why bother!

[JenzyKY]

I was just on the Dream. I almost fell multiple times being careful. I hope they fix the decks. It is simply irresponsible of Carnival to use such slippery, hot material. The law suit and settlement is not going to raise the cost of cruising. That's what their insurance is for!

[Jolimont]

[quote name='JenzyKY']I was just on the Dream. I almost fell multiple times being careful. I hope they fix the decks. It is simply irresponsible of Carnival to use such slippery, hot material. The law suit and settlement is not going to raise the cost of cruising. That's what their insurance is for![/QUOTE]
My solution is to wear Nike pool shoes around pools in general. Other sports shoes brands make them too. Not the prettiest things in the world, but it's better than landing on my behind or knees.

[flcruiser4]

[quote name='bigfig63']Just to avoid this in the future, and because the majority of human bipeds carry their center of gravity in the upper 1/3 of their body, Carnival should move all passengers on board via wheel chair to the location of their choice durng the cruise. There WILL be extra attendants to stabilize said passenger when moving from wheel chair to location of preference and vice versa. Passengers are NOT allowed to transverse any of the public or private areas in a vertical position and must present themselves in their lowest center of gravity whilst on board.

No beverage will be served warmer then 72 F and colder then 70 F. Pools will be permanently closed due to the possibility of drowing. A permanent enclosed shell we be affixed to any open area to avoid falling overboard. There WILL be no casino on this crusie as the increased heart rate of winning or losing may cause cardiac tachycardia that may lead to a MI.

Better yet, cruise is cancelled, why bother![/quote]

Lol...this is great.

[flcruiser4]

[quote name='gemsm']Yeah sure ya do...like I said if you are an attorney you suck at it[/quote]

I know enough about law, car accidents, etc that I've been involved in several of them and always came out of the incident well without ever needing an attorney. If the personal injury attorneys around here are as bad as yours I don't want one anyway. Even in my not at fault accidents, with no attorneys involved, I always got all medical expenses, rental cars, body work, and even mechanical work done without having a dime come out of my pocket. And guess what- I always got a rental car comparable to the one I was driving at the time. I didn't let them stick me in a 2 door Kia. I'm sure I've had more college law courses than you have.

[nbsjcruiser]

Ahhh the Carnival Cheerleaders are out in full force on this one. As soon as I read the initial post I thought the Cheerleaders would jump all over this poor woman and I was right. I do not understand what makes some of you people so defensible when it comes to Carnival. Is the the loyalty program, the warm chocolate melting cake? What is it? I don't get it. Read the article. Carnival ADMITTED LIABILITY! Yet some of you still don't get it. Put yourself in her shoes with a forever damaged knee. Six surgeries, future knee replacement. If that was you you'd want Carnival to pay for their admitted liability wouldn't you? Or would you just swallow the 2 or 3 hundred thousand in medical bills and get your pom poms out and do the Carnival cheer?

You people amaze me sometimes.