A cruise ship lawyer has explained the legal rights of a Royal Caribbean passenger who was reportedly 'sliced open' by a broken waterslide on the Icon of the Seas ship.
The incident occurred when a male, adult guest, who has not been identified, was travelling down the 'Frightening Bolt Waterslide' onboard the cruise ship, which departed from Miami, US, on 2 August.
Alarming footage appeared to show water pouring out of a hole in the side of the water slide, which is 46ft high. Initial reports claimed the man had fallen through the gap, however, it was later confirmed no one had fallen through, with reports instead suggesting he had been 'sliced open' by the jagged acrylic glass.
Advert
The passenger received treatment on the ship and was said to be in a stable condition.
Now, cruise ship lawyer Spencer Aronfeld has spoken on the incident on TikTok, after a number of people asked him 'what the case was worth', and 'how much money' the guest can expect to receive from Royal Caribbean as compensation.
"Well, let me tell you from the perspective of a lawyer who sues cruise lines for a living, like Royal Caribbean: just because this happened, under federal maritime law, that passenger automatically is entitled to receive money for their injury," he told his followers.
Advert
"The law says Royal Caribbean either knew, or should've known of the dangerous condition, i.e. cracks in the slide or it failed or had failed before and failed to warn the passenger before it happened."
If the breakage to the slide was sudden, with no warning whatsoever, the lawyer says it's unlikely they would have any success in suing the cruise line.
Aronfeld says there have been many cases where personal injury cases against cruise lines, regarding incidents like broken bar stools or lounge chairs, have been thrown out using the 'this just happened' excuse.
He says the cruise line will say, 'it was a sudden failure and we had no reason to anticipate it, that last time we inspected everything was fine, this just happened', which tends to be a successful defence.
Advert
In its latest update, Royal Caribbean said: "The slide remained closed for the rest of the voyage while engineers assessed the damage.
"Other pools and water attractions on board remained open, but passengers noted an increase in visible safety checks across the ship in the days following the incident."
In a statement to LADbible Group, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: "The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority.
"To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines."
Topics: TikTok, Viral, Royal Caribbean, Cruise Ship
Emma Rosemurgey