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Three guests who were injured during a Carnival Cruise Line voyage have filed a lawsuit against parent company Carnival Corporation, citing multiple charges of negligence.

Filed on February 26, 2026, in the US District Court/Southern District of Florida, the suit contends that the guests, Brandi Leber, Patrick Leber, and Carol Susie McCabe, sustained injuries while on a tender boat headed to the private island destination Princess Cays.

The three were passengers onboard Carnival Sunrise and are each seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

According to the lawsuit, the guests are charging three specific acts of negligence tied to the operation of the tender boat, which encountered turbulent conditions as it approached the private island in the Bahamas on March 10, 2025.

The Leber couple and McCabe joined other passengers of the 2,984-guest Carnival Sunrise on the tender, and planned to enjoy a port call at the destination. Instead, the lawsuit charges, heavy seas caused guests to be thrown around the boat, and the bench the plaintiffs were sitting on became unbolted from the floor.

Evidence detailed in the suit, including pictures, indicates that the bench had previously been re-bolted to the floor and that the existing bolts were loose.

The lawsuit describes the ocean conditions at the time as “red flag,” and criticizes the tender boat captain’s actions, which included steering the boat “parallel to heavy wave patterns.” 

That, coupled with the boat’s “top-heavy instability and the lack of adequate passenger restraints,” caused the three guests to sustain serious injuries.

Injuries sustained by the guests are described in detail. Brandi Leber hit her head on a metal railing and sustained a traumatic brain injury, while Patrick Leber injured his left knee when it became pinned under the bench, which had collapsed.

McCabe had multiple injuries to her left leg, back, and neck. The lawsuit also charges that, upon returning to Carnival Sunrise, the ship’s medical staff members told the three guests that their injuries “were not serious and required minimal treatment.”

They were also told that the cruise line would follow up with them regarding the event, but the suit states that no follow-up has happened.

Read Also: What I Learned Visiting Princess Cays, Bahamas

Specifically, the lawsuit is charging Carnival Corporation with negligent failure to remedy the subject bench; negligent failure to warn of the danger of the subject bench; and negligence for the acts of Carnival’s tender boat captain.

The three plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial; no date has been set.

Carnival Sunrise, which formerly operated as Carnival Triumph, is based at PortMiami and sails Caribbean and Bahamas cruises. The Sunshine-class ship typically calls at several of Carnival’s private destinations, including Half Moon Cay and Celebration Key, along with Princess Cays.

Lawsuit Joins Others Recently Filed Against Cruise Giant

This latest lawsuit is the third one tied to a Carnival Corporation brand that emerged in February 2026. Two lawsuits, as reported on Cruise Hive, were filed on February 19, 2026. 

One involves an incident that happened in March 2025 aboard Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess. In that case, a female guest is charging three counts of negligence after she tripped over some ribbons that had been left on a dining room floor and sustained injuries.

A second lawsuit was filed by a woman who was injured while on Carnival Sunshine, also in March 2025. The guest became injured while riding a water slide. When she reached the bottom of the slide, her feet hit the wall, causing her to break her right foot and sprain her left ankle.

That suit charges that there was insufficient water at the bottom of the slide, but the crew allowed passengers to continue using the thrill ride.

Carnival Faces New Lawsuit After Guests Injured on Rough Tender Ride

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