05/26/2026
An Alabama woman has sued Carnival Cruise Line for $75,000, alleging she was seriously injured when her rented mobility scooter tipped over on a gangway crowded with disembarking passengers because crew members had set up stanchions that forced a sharp turn over a threshold.
Etta Brock filed the lawsuit April 28 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami. The complaint accuses Carnival Corp., doing business as Carnival Cruise Line, of negligence for creating and failing to fix a hazardous condition on the Carnival Valor.
According to the suit, Brock was a paying passenger on the ship when the incident occurred Jan. 2, 2025, at the end of her cruise. She had a disability requiring a mobility scooter, which she rented through Carnival’s website from a third-party vendor.
The company knew she and other disabled passengers would use such devices throughout the voyage, including while boarding and leaving the vessel, the complaint states.
Brock had used the same third-deck guest gangway with her scooter multiple times during the cruise without problems, the lawsuit says. But during disembarkation, crew placed retractable belt stanchions — often called tensabarriers — along the path.
The new configuration created a nearly 90-degree turn right after a threshold, narrowing the space and forcing her to maneuver the scooter through the sharp directional change and elevation difference at the same time.
“The combination of the sharp turn — requiring a directional change while simultaneously negotiating the elevation change — created an inherent tipping hazard for mobility devices that Defendant knew or should have known would be present during disembarkation,” the complaint alleges.
The hazard was not open and obvious, and Carnival provided no warnings, signs, barriers or crew assistance, according to the filing. The gangway was crowded, further reducing visibility of the floor-level threshold, and Brock’s attention was focused on navigating the sudden turn created by the stanchions, the suit says.
Carnival employed crew members responsible for placing the stanchions, inspecting the gangway area, supervising passenger safety and assisting passengers with disabilities, the complaint states. It alleges the company breached its duty of reasonable care by:
- Negligently designing and placing the stanchions in a way that created an unreasonable tipping risk.
- Failing to provide a separate route for passengers with mobility issues.
- Not warning passengers about the combined hazard of the sharp turn and threshold.
- Failing to inspect, maintain or correct the condition despite having actual or constructive knowledge of it.
The suit claims Carnival had notice of the problem through its own design and placement of the stanchions, routine inspections, prior passenger complaints and earlier similar incidents involving mobility devices on its ships.
Brock asserts three counts: general negligence, negligent failure to warn and negligent failure to maintain a safe condition. The claims arise under general maritime law.
As a result of the fall, she suffered injuries to her body and extremities, along with physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, disability, disfigurement and other damages, the complaint says. Her injuries are permanent or continuing, and she has incurred medical expenses, according to the filing.
Brock, a resident of Alabama, is seeking damages exceeding the
sum of $75,000 to be determined at trial. She has demanded a jury trial.
The case is assigned number 26-cv-22999.
Carnival had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
