Jury Orders Cruise Line To Pay Woman $300,000 For Serving Her Alcohol Before Falling Down Stairs
(Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)
A federal jury in Miami has ruled that Carnival Cruise Line must pay $300,000 to a California nurse after determining the company was negligent in continuing to serve her alcohol before she was injured.
The case centers on Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse from Vacaville, California, who was sailing aboard the Carnival Radiance on January 5, 2024. According to court documents cited by The Miami Herald and The Associated Press, Sanders was served at least 14 shots of alcohol between approximately 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m. that day.
Sometime between about 11:45 p.m. and 12:20 a.m., Sanders fell and suffered several injuries. Court filings say she sustained a concussion, a possible traumatic brain injury, damage to her back and tailbone, and other wounds.
The jury delivered its decision on April 10, siding with Sanders in the negligence claim. Jurors determined Carnival held the majority of the responsibility for the incident, assigning 60 percent of the blame to the cruise line and 40 percent to Sanders for her own alcohol consumption.
Sanders’ attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, argued that cruise lines’ all-inclusive drink packages can encourage excessive drinking and place pressure on servers who rely heavily on tips. In a statement cited by The Associated Press, he said the case demonstrates the risks associated with those packages.
Injured passenger awarded $300,000 after a jury finds Carnival overserved her alcohol https://t.co/H7dBWvzDef pic.twitter.com/5nmLCt3sKT
— KTLA (@KTLA) April 16, 2026
Sanders has also said she never received a clear explanation from the cruise line about what happened after she lost consciousness. In a video posted by her attorney and reported on by CBS News Sacramento, she said she was given conflicting accounts and felt she was treated as though she had done something wrong.
During the trial, Aronfeld said Sanders acknowledged her own responsibility for drinking alcohol, but argued the cruise line should also be accountable for continuing to serve her. He stated that the jury viewed about 30 minutes of security footage showing the period after Sanders left a casino bar and before she was later found unconscious in an area restricted to crew members.
The jury ultimately awarded Sanders $300,000 in damages. That amount was higher than the $250,000 her legal team had originally requested.
Carnival Cruise Line has said it disagrees with the verdict. The company told The Associated Press it plans to pursue a new trial and file an appeal.
According to Aronfeld, cases accusing cruise lines of overserving alcohol rarely go before a jury. The ruling also comes as another cruise operator, Royal Caribbean, is dealing with a separate lawsuit that claims a passenger was served 33 drinks before dying during a December 2024 voyage.
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