Disney Cruise Line must pay former employee $4 million for injury, jury finds
Disney Cruise Line must pay a former cruise ship employee $4 million, a jury in Brevard County, Fla. ruled.
In September 2013, Maria Ana Reis Martins, now 39, was a dining room server aboard the Disney Dream ship that cruised to the Caribbean from Port Canaveral.
A car hit her while she was on shore in Nassau, Bahamas, breaking three of her ribs. The ship’s medical team failed to diagnose her fractures and found she was fit for work, so she continued to serve tables for 10 days. A doctor in Florida found she had broken three of her ribs and the company sent her home to Portugal to receive treatment for five months.
She returned to work on the Disney Dream in April 2014 but had to leave only a month later after complaining of pain in her ribs. She returned to Portugal and was diagnosed with nerve damage. Martins sued the cruise line in December 2015.
Martins’ attorney Julio Ayala, based in Miami, argued before a jury earlier this month that Disney Cruise Line was negligent and failed to provide adequate medical care. Disney Cruise Line argued that it had fulfilled its duties of care under maritime law.
After five hours of deliberation on Dec. 19, jurors found that Disney Cruise Line had to pay Martins $1 million for pain and suffering, $2 million for lost earnings and $1 million as punishment. The jury attributed 70% of negligence associated with Martins’ injury to the company and 30% to her. The verdict marks the first jury trial against Disney Cruise Line for the personal injury of a ship worker, according to Ayala.
Disney Cruise Line did not respond to a request for comment about the verdict. The company has not yet appealed the decision.
Unlike its competitors, Disney Cruise Line employment contracts do not include mandatory arbitration clauses, but do require employees to sue in either Brevard County Circuit Court of the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
