Highlights
- Gathering key witnesses is vital in public liability cases
- The right legal strategy avoids trial and ends in satisfactory mediation.
Summary
A middle-aged woman whose holiday was ruined when she tripped on the stairs of a cruise ship theatre receives a substantial payout for pain, suffering, disappointment and distress.
Case Details
Carbone Lawyer’s client (the plaintiff) in this matter was a 60-year-old woman who in December 2019 embarked on an end-of-year cruise on Australian waters with a group of family and friends.
On the evening of the second day onboard, the plaintiff attended a show in the ship’s theatre. The steps leading down to the seating area were uneven in length, and there were no ushers present. The house lights went off, and witnesses were prepared to testify that there was a period when the stairs were in complete darkness.
At that moment, the woman had tripped on the stairs and fallen hard, suffering injuries to her ankle, knee and hip and aggravating previous injuries. Fortunately, she didn’t require surgery.
Carbone Lawyers was engaged to sue for damages and entered pleas of negligence, breach of contract, and breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
As common law negligence is modified by state-based law, the exact location of the cruise ship between Victoria and Tasmania would need to be established should the matter go to trial.
However, Carbone Lawyers made the strategic decision to go to mediation taking a global approach to settlement. This resulted in a satisfactory outcome.
Outcome
Considering the plaintiff was not claiming economic loss and there was no surgery, Carbone Lawyers was successful in winning a large sum of money for pain and suffering plus costs – the exact terms being subject to confidentiality.
The woman’s husband also secured damages for disappointment and distress. This is an aspect of Personal Injury Law that typically applies to the cruise ship industry when the actual experience of the cruise fails to meet the expectation or promise of the cruise liner because of illness or injury.