October 2012 Destiny overboard incident - lawsuit filed

I couldn't find anything about this elsewhere by searching the boards.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/03/13/55672.htm --

Carnival Cruise Line Didn't Give a Damn, Woman Overboard Says

By MARIMER MATOS

 

MIAMI (CN) - After Carnival cruises got her so drunk she fell overboard, and eyewitnesses reported it, the captain refused to turn around the ship for 90 minutes, then refused to airlift her to hospital to treat her fractured bones, a woman claims in court.

 

Sarah Alexandra Badley Kirby sued Carnival Corp. and four people, including two doctors, in Federal Court.

 

Kirby says she was a paying passenger on the Carnival Destiny, which she describes as "a floating dram shop," for a cruise from Miami to Jamaica. With her on Oct. 21, 2012, were her fiancé and her friend Rebecca.

 

She claims a bartender at one of the ship's bars got her smashed on Long Island iced teas, which he "kept pushing on the plaintiff."

 

"Moreover, to encourage the plaintiff and her companions to buy more Long Island iced teas, the Carnival bartender offered them free $5 coupons for the ship's casino. The more drinks they purchased, the more free coupons the Carnival bartender offered the plaintiff and her companions," the complaint states.

 

Kirby says she became "extremely intoxicated," then "returned to her

cabin with her friend Rebecca."

 

The complaint continues: "At approximately 12:10 am, the plaintiff stepped out to the cabin balcony to get some air. As she was holding on to the balcony's wooden banister, the plaintiff lost her grip and balance, slipped off the ground and fell overboard into the ocean. As she fell from the balcony, which was seven stories high (approximately 100 feet), the plaintiff fell onto a life raft, and after hitting the life raft, fell 5 more stories into the water. As a result, plaintiff suffered severe injuries, including: fractured orbital bones, lung contusions, hypothermia, fractured ribs, dissection of the carotid artery, heart arrhythmia, broken optical shelves, blood clots in her eyes, arms, and legs, as well as extreme hematomas all over her body.

 

"The plaintiff fell in the water without a life jacket or a life preserver. After a few minutes, the cruise ship speed away, until it disappeared in the horizon, leaving the plaintiff alone in the middle of the ocean."

 

Kirby says she swam to exhaustion, then floated face-up, swallowing and coughing up water from the waves that "would crash into her face." She "believed that her death was imminent," from drowning or sharks.

 

"Rebecca, the plaintiff's friend, immediately noticed that the plaintiff had fallen overboard," the complaint states. "Moreover, people in different parts of the ship either saw and/or heard the plaintiff fall into the ocean.

 

"Both Rebecca and the other passengers who witnessed the fall, immediately notified several Carnival staff members that the plaintiff had fallen overboard. Rebecca and the plaintiff's fiancé repeatedly demanded the cruise ship staff to stop the ship. Their request, however, was summarily denied. Instead, the cruise ship staff explained that they were not going to stop the vessel, until they first searched the ship. The cruise ship staff also explained that they were 'following standard procedure.'

 

"Rebecca and the plaintiff's fiancé were then escorted to the Captain's quarters and/or offices. There, over the next 90 minutes (while the ship was still moving) they were questioned by the ship's security staff and the ship's officers regarding the incident. Rebecca and the plaintiff's fiancé repeated their story several times, and again demanded several times that the ship be stopped immediately. Once again, however, their request was denied, and the ship's officers insisted they were not going to stop the vessel until they first searched the ship.

 

"At approximately 1:45 a.m., while the ship was still moving (and the plaintiff had been in the water for over one hour and thirty minutes), the ship's officers notified all passengers via intercom that they were going to turn around the ship to find the plaintiff." (Parentheses in complaint.)

 

The crew found her after she had spent nearly two hours in the ocean.

 

But "rather than treating her severe injuries, the Carnival doctors' treatment of the plaintiff was primarily limited to giving her pain medication," Kirby says.

 

She claims Carnival refused to airlift her to a hospital, but diverted the cruise to Key West, where "doctors explained that they did not have the equipment to handle the severe trauma that plaintiff had suffered. They also stated that the plaintiff should have been air evacuated from the cruise ship directly to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami."

 

Kirby says she began receiving medical treatment 16 hours after she fell off the boat and was in the hospital for three weeks.

 

She claims: "Carnival intentionally and/or recklessly decided to search the ship first, despite knowing (as represented by plaintiff's friend, fiancé and other passenger witnesses) that the plaintiff had fallen overboard. In doing so, Carnival intentionally and/or recklessly abandoned the plaintiff in the middle of the ocean for an unreasonable period of time. Carnival's conduct was so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." (Parentheses in complaint.)

 

Named as defendants are Carnival Corp., Dr. Steven Saris, Dr. Alla Simovskykh, Pricilla Isaacs, and Audrey Minardi.

 

Kirby seeks punitive damages for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

 

She is represented by Carlos Negret, with Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman.

Post from CC News:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5041

Video of rescue:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/26/cruiser-captures-carnival-destiny-rescue-at-sea/

Thread reporting the missed port call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1726072

Thought there could be some discussion of the merit of her lawsuit, the alleged actions of Carnival, etc...just since I didn't see it on here elsewhere after a search.

My spouse suggested possibly they did not airlift because of the existing issue with the Coast Guard and Carnival's refusal to pay the bill?

Also, people on the Carnival boards (from the time of the incident) suggest that she jumped:

http://www.carnival.com/funville/forums/t/247639.aspx?PageIndex=1

she got drunk and its someone elses fault?

My spouse suggested possibly they did not airlift because of the existing issue with the Coast Guard and Carnival's refusal to pay the bill?

 

Also, people on the Carnival boards (from the time of the incident) suggest that she jumped:

http://www.carnival.com/funville/forums/t/247639.aspx?PageIndex=1

If there was a bill to pay, it wouldn't be Carnival's responsibility. It would be the drunk's who certainly didn't just slip over the railing. But not an issue anyway as there is no airlift charge by the Coast Guard

This is a shame. The lady is lucky to be alive, and instead of being grateful and moving forward positively she tries to make a buck. And this after she ruined the vacations of hundreds of people. Lovely.

So that's why they changed the name ;)

I can hear the defense now, so you clam that you fell off a ship named Carnival Destiny :eek:;):p

My spouse suggested possibly they did not airlift because of the existing issue with the Coast Guard and Carnival's refusal to pay the bill?

 

Also, people on the Carnival boards (from the time of the incident) suggest that she jumped:

http://www.carnival.com/funville/forums/t/247639.aspx?PageIndex=1

There is no "bill" from the Coast Guard. And this incident is from October 2012! That would be before the Triumph incident.

And is this woman 8 feet tall? You can't just slip and fall over the railing.

First... I want to meet the person that FORCED her to drink long island iced tea... second... certain drinks come with a free $5 play at the casino.. it's posted, it wasn't in effort to get someone drunk and 3rd... how in the HELL does anyone just FALL over one of thier railings? Put ME on that jury please. :D

First, let me say the lady's injuries sound horrendous. If they are true it is a miracle she survived.

However, she was so drunk she fell UP and over a railing. Those railings are really high. It would take a lot of effort to "fall" over one.

If she was that drunk, her companions probably were also, which would explain the crew's decision to search onboard first. Drunks don't make the most reliable witnesses and it is likely previous drunks have claimed their companions were missing when they were really just passed out somewhere. JS

Also, anyone else notice the ship supposedly kept going for 90 minutes but it only took 30 minutes to turn around and pick her up? Something does not add up there.

As far as medical treatment I doubt the doctors involved would risk their licenses not giving proper care. It may have been deemed more dangerous or painful to try and airlift from the boat. A dissected artery is hard to diagnose in a hospital, let alone in a ship's clinic. It would depend on how big the dissection was as to whether it was even suspected.

While I sympathize with her pain, the fact remains she was responsible for her drunken state and actions and I do not doubt for an instant that the defendants acted to the best that they could with the knowledge they had.

I'm sorry for what happened to this woman, I'm sure it was terrible. However, let's talk personal responsibility here. If she wasn't drunk none of this would have happened. Unless there's a video of the bartender forcibly pouring drinks down her throat, I think she should crawl back into the woodwork and be happy she's alive.

Absolutely disgusting of her and her shady attorney. What's even more disgusting is carnivals insurance will probably settle bc it's cheaper and she will benefit from her stupidity.

She better be glad i'm not a juror........:)

she got drunk and its someone else's fault?

I was there! No seriously. :D

I saw the Capt have his mates hold her down

while he poured neat Vodka down her throat the poooor woman. :cool:

AND they billed her for the vodka!

And then she "fell" overboard, somehow making her way over railings usually about 46 inches short.

Awwwwww... now that's a cryin shame! :cool:

.

First... I want to meet the person that FORCED her to drink long island iced tea... second... certain drinks come with a free $5 play at the casino.. it's posted, it wasn't in effort to get someone drunk and 3rd... how in the HELL does anyone just FALL over one of thier railings? Put ME on that jury please. :D

I bet she sobered up fast when she hit the water

You can't fix stupid... :eek::rolleyes:

I hope she finds this thread.

She is so stupid. No jury in their right mind will believe that she is not responsible for her own drinking. Also, parents with kids get balconies and no kid has fallen over board so the balconies must be quiet safe- unless you jump. I hope they have security footage of her and sue her a$$ for the expense of turning around. As far as sending them to Key West instead of an airlift, it could have been safer for her since an air lift is not easy to do and Destiny doesn't have a landing pad. They stabilized her and waited to get to a real hospital- why are the dr's being sued?

Oh boy. What an awful experience for someone to go through. By the grace of god she is still alive. I hope people reading this will see what can happen when you drink until you can't function.

As for the lawsuit, there are several points I would like to make. Number one bartenders, in general need to do a better job at flagging intoxicated persons. Bartenders on a cruise ship need to be even more aware of a persons intoxication due to situations like this. Lets face it, cruise ships make a large part of their profit from booze and casino revenue so this is a dicey subject.

IMO after being on 8 cruises, I do not feel it is possible to "fall" off a cruise ship if you are a normal person doing normal things so the account of how this poor soul ended up in the water is inaccurate at best. You simply cannot slip, loose you balance and fall off the ship unless you are someplace doing something you should not be doing. Drunk people tend to do those sorts of things,though.

The issue of when the ship was stopped will have to be hashed out in court if it gets to court but the bottom line is that we have become a society where people fail to take responsibility for their own actions. It is easier to blame others then to admit you got blasted out of your mind, did something stupid and ended up in the ocean.

Carnival will have to take some liability because she was served beyond the point of intoxication and really should have a process in place to deal with people who are a danger to themselves due to over-indulgence.

Gina

I can't wait for one of the following two things to happen:

1) CCL releasing a video of her standing on the railing.

2) CCL releasing a video of her standing on the wrong side of the railing doing the Titanic pose.

If you fall over and get rescued, you should be kissing the crew's feet.

My spouse suggested possibly they did not airlift because of the existing issue with the Coast Guard and Carnival's refusal to pay the bill?

 

Also, people on the Carnival boards (from the time of the incident) suggest that she jumped:

http://www.carnival.com/funville/forums/t/247639.aspx?PageIndex=1

Interesting . . . the first post on this link says the first announcement was made "right around 11:00pm" - yet the plaintiff says it was 12:10am when she "fell". :rolleyes:

I couldn't find anything about this elsewhere by searching the boards.

 

http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/03/13/55672.htm --

 

 

 

Post from CC News:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5041

 

Video of rescue:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/26/cruiser-captures-carnival-destiny-rescue-at-sea/

 

Thread reporting the missed port call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1726072

 

Thought there could be some discussion of the merit of her lawsuit, the alleged actions of Carnival, etc...just since I didn't see it on here elsewhere after a search.

Im not going to go searching but it was discussed here at length when it happened.....6 months ago

Sent using my Commodore 64

My spouse suggested possibly they did not airlift because of the existing issue with the Coast Guard and Carnival's refusal to pay the bill?

What bill would that be? Do you know something about a bill that no one else does?

Sent using my Commodore 64

Of course she and her friends didnt smuggle any Rum Runners on board?

I hope Carnivals lawyers wipe up the floor with her.

This is truly horrible but I have one comment. Carnival cannot make anyone drunk. This statement I am tired of hearing.

I am sick and tired of people here saying "Carnival made.........drunk". Last I knew a person actually has to open their mouth and tell someone they want a drink. Carnival does not just hand out drinks for free. You have to pay for them.

People can tell waiters yes I want a drink or NO I do not want a drink. People have to walk up to a bar and actually order a drink themselves.

So where do they get this idea that Carnival or any cruise line for that fact actually made you drink. JMHO.

Welcome to the concept of personal responsibility. You obviously understand the concept. I understand it. Probably 90% of people on this board understand it.

It's the 10% who don't get that concept that makes it so entertaining around here.