Pennsylvania Passenger Sues Princess Cruise Lines After Trip and Fall on Buckled Stateroom Balcony Flooring Aboard Grand Princess
Susan M. Mazza, a resident of Pennsylvania, has filed a maritime personal injury lawsuit against Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The action, filed under Case Number 1:26-cv-27067-RKA, claims that Mazza suffered severe and permanent injuries after tripping over an unlevel, buckled rubber floor tile on the private balcony of her assigned cabin aboard the Grand Princess on October 13, 2025.
Cruise Passenger Injured on Grand Princess Private Balcony Due to Raised Rubber Deck Tiles and Lack of Warnings
According to the filed complaint, Mazza was a lawful fare-paying passenger assigned to Balcony Stateroom C312 during the voyage. The private exterior balcony provided for her use featured an interlocking deck covering made of blue and teal rubber-like tiles. While walking across the balcony surface for the first time, Mazza encountered a section where one or more tiles had severely buckled, separated, and lifted above the surrounding floor. This defect created a raised ridge and an abrupt height differential across the primary walking path. Mazza tripped over the elevated edge, resulting in a sudden and forceful fall. The complaint highlights that the lifted tile blended into the deck due to the uniform color, repetitive pattern, lighting, and approach angle, rendering the hazard hidden rather than open and obvious to an ordinary guest. Princess had not placed warning cones, tape, or contrasting safety markings to signal the uneven surface.
Princess Cruise Lines Accused of Notice Concerning Recurring Balcony Deck Tile Defects and Inadequate Inspection
The lawsuit asserts that Princess Cruise Lines had actual or constructive notice of the hazardous deck condition well before the fall occurred. The lifted tile was not an abrupt, momentary obstruction but a warped and degraded fixture that developed over time. Cabin stewards and maintenance crew were assigned to enter, clean, and inspect Stateroom C312 and its balcony on a daily basis prior to and during the cruise, providing ample opportunity to detect and remedy the defect during routine walk-throughs. The complaint also asserts that this rubber interlocking tile configuration is an established feature across the Princess fleet that exhibits a known tendency to lift, warp, and detach after regular exposure to passenger foot traffic and maritime weather. Plaintiff alleges that prior similar trip-and-fall incidents have occurred across Princess ships, but the cruise line routinely shields these occurrences through confidential settlements while failing to correct the underlying tripping hazards across its vessels.
Lawsuit Asserts Defective Balcony Flooring Design and Material Selection Across Grand-Class Cruise Vessels
Beyond routine inspection failures, the lawsuit claims Princess Cruise Lines is liable for negligent design and material selection. Princess custom-built the Grand Princess at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, alongside sister ships in the Grand-class fleet. The cruise line exercised comprehensive oversight during design and construction through its shoreside New Build division, architects, and on-site shipyard representatives. Under its shipbuilding contracts, Princess held the authority to select, approve, or reject materials throughout the vessel. The complaint argues that Princess chose rubberized balcony flooring materials that fail to withstand the standard marine environment and wear from continuous passenger traffic, causing tiles to buckle, warp, and create persistent walkway obstacles in violation of international maritime safety codes and industry practices.
Injured Cruise Traveler Seeks Compensatory Damages for Permanent Disability, Medical Costs, and Lost Vacation Value
Mazza brings four formal counts of negligence against Princess Cruise Lines: general negligence, negligent failure to inspect and maintain, negligent failure to warn, and negligent design and selection of materials. The lawsuit asserts that the cruise line breached its non-delegable duty of reasonable care under maritime law by failing to provide safe stateroom accommodations and ignoring applicable safety standards governed by SOLAS, the International Safety Management Code, and internal safety protocols. As a direct result of the incident, Mazza claims serious, permanent, and debilitating bodily injuries, physical pain, emotional anguish, medical expenses, diminished earning capacity, and the total loss of the value of her cruise vacation. She demands a jury trial and full compensatory damages.
Contact a Cruise Ship Stateroom Injury Lawyer Today to Discuss Your Slip, Trip, and Fall Claim
Passengers who suffer injuries due to hazardous balcony floors, unlevel thresholds, or defective deck materials aboard cruise ships may have legal rights to seek recovery under federal maritime law. Cruise operators have a duty to maintain passenger accommodations in a reasonably safe condition, conduct thorough safety inspections, and warn of hidden trip hazards.
Individuals who have experienced an injury aboard a cruise vessel due to neglected shipboard conditions can reach out to knowledgeable maritime attorneys to review their case and explore all available legal remedies. Please visit our contact page to speak with an experienced maritime injury lawyer about your claim.
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.
