Susan and Charles Orgbonof Georgiaand Aleveta Jordanof North Carolina filed the federal lawsuit, which alleges that Carnival was negligent in training its staff and maintaining the ship, according to Florida Today.
The suit alleges that this negligence and lack of training led the ship to tilt and, subsequently, caused Susan to injure her spine, Charles to injure his wrist in an attempt to catch his wife, and Jordan to fall on and injure her knee, per the outlet.
Although seasoned cruise passengers may be accustomedto rocking on ships caused by waves, this momentary tilt felt different.
One passengerdescribed the scene aboard the ship as follows: "Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables," David Crews told News 6 at the time. "Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic."
At the time, a spokesperson for cruise line told INSIDER the listing was a brief disruption and that there was "never any issue" with the ship's safety.
"The Carnival Sunshine experienced a technical issue which caused the ship to list for approximately one minute. There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation," a spokesperson for the cruise line said at the time. "Following the incident, evening events resumed for our guests and the ship proceeded on its Caribbean cruise as scheduled. We are very sorry for the disruption this caused."
According to the spokesperson, the ship was "fully operational."
The statement concluded: "We remain confident of the safety of the ship as we are committed to the safety of our guests and crew."
The Carnival Sunshine left Port Canaveral, Florida, before listing on its side. It regained its upright position after one minute. All passengerswere given a $50 voucher for onboard use. The ship's journey continued as scheduled.
