Carnival Cruise Line should pay $300,000 to a former passenger after a federal jury in South Florida found that the company was negligent in serving the woman more than a dozen shots of tequila before she fell down some stairs and suffered a possible traumatic brain injury.
The Miami federal jury decided last Friday in favor of Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse from Vacaville, California.
“Taking on a corporate giant like Carnival is a massive undertaking, and I have enormous respect for my client’s resilience throughout this 18-month litigation,” Sanders’ attorney Spencer Aronfeld said in an email. “This case highlights the inherent dangers of all-inclusive drink packages, which encourage excessive consumption and pressure underpaid servers to prioritize tips over safety.”
A statement from Carnival Corporation said it respectfully disagrees with the verdict and believes there are grounds for a new trial and appeal, which it will pursue.
According to the lawsuit, Sanders was a passenger aboard the Carnival Radiance on Jan. 5, 2024, when was served at least 14 shots between approximately 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m. She experienced a fall some time between 11:45 p.m. and 12:20 a.m. that caused her to suffer a concussion, headaches, a possible traumatic brain injury, back injuries, tailbone injuries, bruising and other injuries, the complaint said.
Aronfeld said jurors were presented with evidence of 30 minutes of missing surveillance video from the time Sanders left the Casino bar until she was found unconscious in a crew only area.
In a separate case that is still ongoing, the fiancée of a man who died on a cruise ship filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year against Royal Caribbean, alleging it negligently served him at least 33 alcoholic drinks and was liable for his death after crew members tackled him to the ground and stood on him with their full body weight.
The Carnival verdict came a month after a 16-year-old boy was charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship.
Timothy Hudson was initially charged in February and subsequently indicted on March 10. But the breadth of the case was not known until a seal was lifted last week, weeks after U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said he would be prosecuted as an adult at the request of the government.
Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Kepner’s father, Christopher Kepner, released a statement, saying the family was placing “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.”
“At the same time, we are deeply troubled that, despite the seriousness of the charges, he has not been taken into custody. … The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Kepner said.
Email and voicemail messages seeking comment from Hudson’s attorneys about the charges were not immediately returned Monday. Hudson has remained free in the care of an uncle since his arrest in February.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family during this unimaginable loss,” U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said in a written statement. “A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging serious offenses that allegedly occurred aboard a vessel in international waters.”
Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, some 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”
Teens are rarely prosecuted in federal court. Hudson pleaded not guilty when he was initially charged in February, though the proceedings were not public because of his age and neither were court documents. He was seen at the courthouse wearing a ball cap and a hoodie pulled tightly around his face.
A judge on Feb. 6 said Hudson must wear an electronic tether while living with an uncle. The order was changed to allow him to join his father for a few days last week at a landscaping business, newly unsealed court records show.
Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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