A case currently before the United States District Court for the District of Florida demonstrates how far potential liability against a cruise ship may go. The facts of the case of O’Malley v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. provide for interesting analysis when a passenger is injured on a cruise ship.
As cruise ships have increased their sizes and capacities, they have also increased their amenities. In the “old days,” cruise ships had bedrooms and a dining room. For leisure, people would stroll on the deck and look out at the ocean. The sunsets were very popular with passengers. These days, cruise ships contain swimming pools, arcades, numerous restaurants and bars, and some even have ferris wheels. What is more, cruises provide for entertainment like concerts and Broadway shows. The O’Malley case is about ping pong and roller skating amenities aboard a cruise ship.
O’Malley Case
Doreen O’Malley is a self-described roller skating enthusiast who was a passenger aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship in September of 2016. It was a 12-day cruise that set sail from New Jersey to the West Indies. The ship had a roller skating rink and also had an area set aside with ping pong tables. The ping pong tables were located on a balcony above the roller skating rink. As a result, numerous ping pong balls fell from the ping pong table area onto the roller skating rink.
O’Malley frequented the rink while she was on the cruise. While skating, numerous ping pong balls fell onto the rolling skating rink. Through surveillance video supplied by Royal Caribbean Cruises, one can see that Doreen picked up some of the balls and threw them back into the balcony where the ping pong tables were located. This caused her to fall and hurt her foot. The injury was severe, so she would require at least one surgery.
O’Malley filed suit against Royal Caribbean Cruises. Royal Caribbean Cruises motioned for summary judgment, claiming that this case has no merit because it was not negligent in any way by allowing ping pong balls to fall onto a roller skating rink. Even if there was a risk, O’Malley assumed such risk by skating on a rink where there were clearly ping pong balls around. Summary judgment is when one party believes that the case has no merit and it therefore requests that the court dismiss the case before it goes to trial. In basic terms, if a judge finds that the case, even if taking the plaintiff’s side of the case in the best light, has no merit, then the case will be dismissed before going to trial.
On a motion for summary judgment, the judge ruled in favor of O’Malley, reasoning that evidence may show that O’Malley has a claim. Because not all facts are known, it would need to be determined in a court of law that O’Malley’s claim is baseless.
Have you been injured in a maritime accident? Contact the Kolodny firm, experienced maritime injury attorneys.
Alan Kolodny is committed to representing injured clients in Texas and throughout the United States. Alan earned his B.A. from Rice University and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
He focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases involving the following matters: maritime and offshore accidents, including those under the Jones Act; automobile and 18-wheeler truck accidents; and industrial site accidents, work-related accidents, and claims for injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
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