A Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) passenger filed a maritime personal injury lawsuit after sustaining a serious injury while aboard the Norwegian Escape ship.
According to the complaint, Donka Kennedy, of Illinois, alleges that she suffered a "serious left femur fracture after slipping on a dangerous substance" while walking toward the buffet in January 2025.
Kennedy required surgery to repair the fracture, which has led to ongoing physical and financial hardships. Consequently, she's seeking compensation for the surgical expenses and disability that have resulted in her inability to lead a normal life, including mental anguish, disfigurement, lost wages, and the loss of future earning capacity.
This is not the first time NCL has faced lawsuits over similar slip-and-fall incidents. In her complaint, Kennedy cites Harris v. NCL, a case involving a passenger who fell aboard Norwegian Escape in 2023.
Kennedy filed the claim on March 2, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is being represented by Holzberg Legal, which specializes in maritime and personal injury litigation.
NCL is accused of failing to take passenger safety seriously
The lawsuit alleges that NCL "breached its duty of reasonable care" by failing to ensure that the main pool area and surrounding flooring were kept in a safe condition.
Although NCL had the opportunity to detect or correct the hazardous condition by cleaning and drying the area with appropriate cleaning agents and using proper non-skid mats or floor coverings, they failed to do so.
Additionally, Kennedy alleges that NCL did not conduct frequent inspections of high-traffic areas to ensure passenger safety.
As such, while walking across Deck 16 to the Garden Café, she slipped on a "wet" and "transitory" substance near the pool. According to the lawsuit, the dangerous substance wasn't obvious to a "reasonable" passenger since it was transparent.
Of course, the allegations have neither been confirmed by the cruise line nor has NCL publicly commented on Kennedy's lawsuit. However, as the case moves forward, the cruise line will have the opportunity to prove what reasonable steps were taken to ensure passenger safety, along with any warning measures that were in place on the pool deck.
Norwegian Escape cruise ship fast facts
The Norwegian Escape ship is a Breakaway Plus Class vessel that debuted in 2015. She is one of the cruise line's largest ships, measuring 164,998 gross tons and 1,069 feet long.
Norwegian Escape has a passenger capacity of 4,266 at double occupancy and is home to over 1,700 crew members from around the world.
Read more: Norwegian cruise ships by size
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
In addition to writing for Cruise.Blog, Elizabeth has bylines in Business Insider, Royal Caribbean Blog, and Cruiseshipfood.com.
