Royal Caribbean passenger sues cruise line for $75K after tripping over parked mobility scooter
Cruise control.A passenger is suing a major cruise line for damages after stumbling over a mobility scooter.The high-seas tumble resulted in injuries that required surgery.Florida woman Colleen Parson was traveling aboard Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas last June when the fateful fall allegedly went down.
Parson was walking through the onboard casino, which, according to the civil complaint, “was crowded with passengers…” and a precariously parked mobility scooter.“Another passenger in the crowded casino bumped into [Parson] as she walked by, causing [her] to trip over the large mobility scooter which was parked near the crowded gaming tables,” the complaint alleges.According to the incident report, the trip caused Parson “serious personal injury.” She claims she suffered a “comminuted intraarticular fracture of the distal radius of the left wrist,” a type of fracture that occurs when the forearm bone near the thumb shatters into multiple pieces.
The fracture required “an open reduction internal fixation surgery” to restore joint alignment.Parson described the injury she sustained during the incident as permanent and/or continuing in nature, including scarring. However, Parson is not taking legal action against the owner of the errantly placed scooter, nor the passenger who bumped into her.
Parson is instead accusing Royal Caribbean of negligence and of failing to warn passengers of a hazard in the walkway.Pason’s lawsuit also alleges that crew members aboard the 90,090 gross-ton ship failed to establish or enforce proper safety protocols for operating and parking mobility scooters.Parson is demanding a trial by jury.
According to the lawsuit, she is seeking compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income, and the diminished enjoyment and value of her cruise vacation.Parson is seeking damages in excess of $75,000. Per Royal Caribbean’s Mobility Disabilities policy, stated on its website, “assistive de...