Carnival sued for Texas woman's death; Lawsuit claims staff was improperly trained for emergencies

The relatives of a Texas woman who died last year aboard a Carnival ship are suing the cruise liner for negligence, claiming the workers onboard were not properly trained to administer help to passengers in an emergency.

During a cruise in 2011, Angela Holcomb was in her stateroom and went to the bathroom to drink water, but fell and dropped the water glass. Pieces of glass cut a gash in her left arm and according to the suit two crewmembers arrived to help but the plaintiffs claim the workers were not trained properly to handle the emergency.

Family claims an hour passed before relative was taken to medical bay

The complaint states that Holcomb was not taken to the infirmary until nearly an hour after the emergency call. The suit states that after 15 minutes in the infirmary Holcomb "went into cardiac arrest due to the extreme blood loss and was pronounced dead less than an hour later."

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy and determined broken glass severed Holcomb's left ulnar artery.

Relatives sue Carnival for negligence and failure to train crew in serving alcohol and responding to emergencies

Toxicology tests showed Holcomb had a blood alcohol level almost twice the legal limit to drive. The plaintiffs accuse Carnival of negligence by failing to properly train and supervise its crew in serving alcohol to passengers; failing to properly monitor Holcomb's alcohol consumption; and failing to have proper procedures, equipment and trained personnel to respond timely to emergencies.

Personal injury claims against a cruise line in Texas

The laws that can apply to cruise lines are complicated and if you suffer a personal injury aboard a cruise ship you should consult experienced personal injury attorneys to determine if your injury or a loved one's wrongful death was caused by negligence.

Our principal attorneys, Galvin B. Kennedy and David W. Hodges, are both board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas board of legal specialization. You can contact our personal injury lawyers to start a free case review today at 1-877-342-2020. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means if we do not make a recovery in your case you do not owe us anything.