Carnival Fends Off ‘Bamboo Massage’ Broken Hip Claims

Carnival Corp. is not liable in a suit alleging a “bamboo cane” shipboard massage was so intense it fractured a passenger’s hip.

Cruise lines can be held liable for the alleged negligence of on-board vendors in some circumstances.

But Carnival had no duty to warn passengers of the risks of massages when it didn’t know of any prior problems with the massage provider, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District said Oct. 22.

Also, no evidence existed that the cruise line knew the spa contractor was allegedly unfit to perform bamboo massages.

Independent Massage Company

Dawn Dawsey says her massage aboard the Carnival Elation in 2015 entailed the use of a bamboo cane to manipulate her muscles.

The fracture that resulted required surgery and rehabilitation.

But both Carnival and the vendor, Steiner Transocean Ltd., countered that Dawsey lied about a preexisting medical condition. They also said she failed to report her alleged injury to the spa or the cruise line.

Carnival was rightly granted summary judgment because Dawsey never alleged Steiner acted as Carnival’s agent, the court held.

Also, the cruise line had no legal duty to ask Steiner to provide updates on the number of injury claims made by its customers.

Nor did it have to warn passengers about the risks of massages when there was no evidence it knew about any prior injuries in its 13-year history of working with Steiner, the court said.

Negligence claims against Steiner, which disputes that it caused the injury, will proceed to trial, however.

A jury will consider the testimony of Dawsey’s expert on the cause of her fracture, as well as questions about her history of spinal maladies, the court said.

Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman wrote the opinion.

Clark Robb Mason Coulombe & Buschman represented Dawsey. Mase Tinelli Mebane & Briggs PA represented Carnival and Steiner.

The case is Dawsey v. Carnival Corp., 2018 BL 388111, S.D. Fla., No. 16-cv-23939, 10/22/18.