Irene Savitch, a Florida resident, has filed a maritime personal injury lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Line in the Southern District of Florida. The lawsuit, filed under Case No. 1:25-cv-23588-KMM, alleges that Savitch suffered serious and permanent injuries after falling on a dangerously designed atrium staircase aboard the Norwegian Sky on August 14, 2024.
According to the complaint, Savitch was descending the staircase located in the ship’s Deck 5 atrium when she reached the final step and lost her balance. As she attempted to regain stability by grasping the handrail, she fell due to what the complaint describes as a combination of misleading visual patterns and unsafe staircase design.
The lawsuit claims that the staircase featured geometric patterns on the floor at the bottom of the stairs that created a dangerous optical illusion, making it difficult for passengers to perceive the final step. In addition, the handrails allegedly did not extend to the bottom of the staircase, and both the risers and treads were said to be uneven and in violation of safe dimension standards. The slope and nosings of the staircase also allegedly exceeded acceptable safety limits, and the graspability of the handrails was allegedly too wide for safe use.
Savitch asserts that Norwegian Cruise Line negligently designed and maintained the staircase in a manner that created a foreseeable risk of passenger injury. The complaint highlights multiple design flaws, including uneven structural elements and poor visibility at the bottom step. These alleged violations of industry standards were known to Norwegian, according to the lawsuit, because:
Despite this knowledge, the cruise line allegedly failed to remedy the dangerous conditions or to warn passengers of the risks.
The complaint emphasizes that the hazardous conditions were not open or obvious to passengers using the staircase in a normal manner. Savitch contends that Norwegian failed to provide any warnings—verbal or visual—regarding the staircase’s misleading design and non-compliant safety features. The lawsuit argues that, as a common carrier, Norwegian owed a duty to maintain safe premises and to inform passengers of any latent hazards that could cause injury.
Following the fall, Savitch reportedly sustained serious and permanent injuries and required extensive medical treatment. The nature of her injuries has not been fully disclosed, but the complaint states that she continues to experience pain, disfigurement, and loss of quality of life.
Savitch brings two counts of negligence against Norwegian Cruise Line: negligent failure to warn and negligent design. She alleges that the cruise line failed to extend handrails to the bottom of the stairs, failed to avoid or mitigate optical illusions from geometric patterns on the floor, and approved a staircase layout that did not meet safety standards for slope, risers, nosings, or tread depth.
The lawsuit seeks damages for past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and other losses related to her injuries. Savitch has demanded a jury trial.
Passengers injured due to poorly designed or unsafe staircases aboard cruise ships may be entitled to compensation under maritime law. Cruise lines have a legal responsibility to ensure that stairwells, decks, and other walking surfaces are designed and maintained in a way that protects passengers from foreseeable hazards. If you or someone you know was injured on a staircase aboard a cruise ship, reach out to our experienced maritime injury lawyers today to learn more about your legal rights and options.
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Disclaimer: Our firm does not represent the plaintiff in this case and is not involved in the litigation. The information provided is a summary of allegations based on publicly available court filings. We make no representations about the truth of these allegations, are not commenting on the merits of the case, and are not predicting any outcome.