A cruise guest recently injured during a ship waterslide ride plans to file suit against Royal Caribbean. The man suffered “serious injuries” according to maritime and cruise industry law firm Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A.
He suffered multiple cuts which left his skin “sliced open,” the media reported. He was riding the Frightening Bolt waterslide on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas when an acrylic glass panel broke.
“Our firm has decades of experience handling cruise passenger injury cases, and unfortunately, incidents involving material or design failures are something we see far too often,” said attorney Alex Perez.
“Cruise ships have a responsibility to ensure that the attractions they open and encourage passengers to use are safe. Our client and his family are dealing with the catastrophic injuries suffered in this preventable incident, and have requested privacy in order to heal.”
The guest hasn’t been named and no further details regarding the extent of the injuries have been publicly disclosed.
Waterslide Closed for Safety Inspection
The cruise line responded this week following the accident. “Our team provided medical care to an adult guest when acrylic glass broke off a water slide as the guest passed through the slide,” Royal Caribbean said. The water slide was closed for the remainder of the sailing, pending an investigation, it said.
Video footage filmed after the incident showed water cascading down onto the deck through the gap in the waterslide but there were no injuries reported beneath the water slide area. The Frightening Bolt is the tallest drop slide on a cruise ship, which starts on Deck 15 in the waterpark zone.
The slide is situated alongside other waterpark attractions such as slides, Storm Surge, Storm Chasers, and Pressure Drop. The cruise line hasn’t yet responded specifically to news of the impending lawsuit.
