Several passengers from Utah and Arizona are suing the Disney Cruise Line, claiming they took the COVID-19 while on board Disney Fantasy in March 2020, before cruises were stopped.
Passengers filed four lawsuits seeking unspecified damages on March 2, 2021, in the Orlando division of the federal court. According to the lawsuits, Disney did not allow passengers to cancel or reschedule their cruises, even if they had “autoimmune diseases or health problems”, leaving them “with no option” but to embark on their March 2020 trip. .
“Disney continued to allow passengers … to eat at buffets, to provide group entertainment activities on board the ship (such as dancing), and otherwise, allowing passengers to fully participate in the cruise in question, as if not there was an outbreak of COVID-19 or a threat on board the ship ”, the lawsuits state.
The plaintiffs are Judy Parkin and Krystal Skinner, residents of Arizona, and Kailee Taylor, Scott and Jana Olsen, residents of Utah. They all hired the same law firm in Miami.
All passengers say they contracted the virus while sailing from 7 to 14 March. It was on March 8, 2020, that the U.S. Department of State recommended that Americans not travel on cruise ships.
Scott and Jana Olson took their son, who has an autoimmune disease, to a hospital ICU on March 16, 2020 with a high fever and difficulty breathing. The child tested positive for COVID-19 on May 1, and the parents also tested positive. The lawsuit stated: “The plaintiffs feared for their own lives and also for each other’s lives.”
Krystal Skinner’s son, who also has an autoimmune disease, experienced body aches, fever, chills and a cough during the cruise. Her other son, who has asthma, had migraines, fever and difficulty breathing. Skinner herself also felt bad on board and all three tested positive for COVID-19 on April 15.
The lawsuits describe how there were initial concerns about outbreaks of COVID-19 on cruises, including Carnival’s Diamond Princess, which had nearly 700 cases in early February and was quarantined for two weeks at the port of Yokohama, Japan.
Neither Disney Cruise Line nor passengers’ lawyers provided comments to Orlando Sentinel.
Disney Cruise Line canceled all cruises scheduled through Mary 2021 and some even more distant cruises.
Source: Orlando Sentinel