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Carnival Corp’s Australian unit has been ordered to pay the medical expenses of a woman who contracted COVID-19

Carnival Corp’s Australian unit has been ordered to pay the medical expenses of a woman who contracted COVID-19, with a judge ruling that the cruise ship operator misled passengers about safety risks in a landmark class action ruling. On Oct 25, 2023, an Australian court ruled that Carnival and its subsidiary, Princess Cruise Lines, were negligent and "breached their duty of care" in their handling of a coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship early in the pandemic. The decision from Australia’s Federal Court is the first class action win against a cruise ship operator in the world, according to Shine Lawyers, who represent about 1,000 plaintiffs in the suit. Justice Angus Stewart found Carnival Australia misled passengers about the measures it had in place to keep passengers from contracting the virus and that it should have cancelled the March 2020 return voyage of the 'Ruby Princess' from Sydney to New Zealand. Lead plaintiff Susan Karpik was awarded A$4,423.48 ($2,826) for out-of-pocket medical expenses but no damages. The courts must now decide on the common claims of the remaining parties to the class action. Karpik, who was along with her husband Henry had been a passenger on the ship, had claimed more than A$360,000, in part due to the psychological distress of her husband’s two-month hospitalisation with the virus. Carnival Australia was considering the judgment in detail. The 'Ruby Princess' was for a time Australia’s biggest single source of COVID infection after 2,651 passengers, many feeling unwell, were allowed to leave the ship helping spread the virus across the country and internationally. Around 900 cases and 28 deaths would be linked to the outbreak. A 2020 public inquiry into the outbreak concluded New South Wales state health officials made “inexcusable” mistakes when they allowed passengers to disembark.

Allision in San Francisco

The 'Ruby Princess' allided Pier 27 while docking in the morning of July 6, 2023, in San Francisco. The ship was returning from a 10-day cruise to Alaska, which had 3,328 guests and 1,159 crew members on board, none of whom were injured and all safely deboarded. The damage done to the vessel did not slow down new passengers from boarding at 4 p.m. PT, set to embark on the next 10-day cruise.On July 7 at 4 p.m., the ship was still docke. Following an inspection from the U.S. Coast Guard, it was cleared to sail once all damage has been fully repaired. There were over 3,000 guests currently boarded, who were being given the option to cancel and receive a 100% refund of their cruise fare, post-cruise hotel packages and transfers booked through Princess, prepaid shore excursions and other prepaid items and taxes, fees and port expenses. The ship finally sailed on July 10.

Medevac in San Francisco Bay

The US Coast Guard medevaced a passenger from the 'Ruby Princess' near Alcatraz on May 17, 2023. U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received notification from the cruise ship at around 6:40 p.m. of an 85-year-old male who had suffered a leg injury during the transit out of the San Francisco Bay. Once the 'Ruby Princess' arrived back inside the bay near Alcatraz, Sector San Francisco watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Station San Francisco 45-foot-boat at around 8:22 p.m. At 8:30 p.m., the boat arrived on scene and transferred the injured passenger on board. It then transited to Gas House Cove, where the patient was transferred to awaiting emergency medical services around 9:20 p.m.