Texas Woman Sues Carnival Cruise Line After Sticky Floor Fall on Deck 8 of Carnival Jubilee

Denise Domingue, a resident of Texas, has filed a federal maritime personal injury lawsuit against Carnival Corporation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Filed on October 21, 2026, under Case No. 1:26-cv-27432-BB, the complaint alleges that Domingue suffered severe and permanent injuries, including significant trauma to her right knee, after her shoe became stuck to an unreasonably sticky flooring surface on Deck 8 of the Carnival Jubilee on November 4, 2025.

Cruise Passenger Injured Stepping Off Elevator Onto Sticky Deck 8 Walkway Aboard Carnival Jubilee

According to the allegations detailed in the federal court filing, the incident took place on the fourth day of an eight-day voyage aboard the Carnival Jubilee. Domingue, who was traveling with her sister, exited a passenger elevator on Deck 8 with the intention of walking to a nearby dining area to obtain food. As she stepped off the carpeted elevator landing and transitioned onto the adjacent hard flooring surface, her foot and shoe immediately adhered to an extremely sticky substance coating the walkway.

The sudden halt in her forward momentum caused Domingue to lose her balance and fall heavily onto her right knee. Following the accident, her knee became severely swollen, requiring immediate evaluation at the shipboard medical center. Onboard medical personnel performed blood work and x-rays before placing her injured leg into a knee brace. The complaint asserts that the sticky condition of the flooring transition was neither open nor obvious to passengers walking through the area. Because there were no caution cones, warning signs, or crew members blocking off the hazardous section of the walkway, Domingue claims she had no way of anticipating the sudden change in floor traction or preventing the fall.

Lawsuit Alleges Improper Floor Cleaning Residues and Unremedied Spills Created Cruise Ship Trip and Fall Hazard

A central focus of the complaint involves the exact origin of the tacky substance on Deck 8 and the cruise line’s internal maintenance protocols. The lawsuit presents two primary factual theories regarding how the hazardous condition developed. First, the filing notes that the walkway immediately outside the Deck 8 elevators is a heavily congested thoroughfare where passengers regularly carry food and beverages. Under this theory, an uncleaned food or drink spill was allowed to sit on the walkway for an extended duration until it dried and became dangerously tacky.

Alternatively, the complaint alleges that Carnival crew members directly created or worsened the hazard through the improper selection and application of floor maintenance chemicals. Carnival maintains strict fleetwide standards governing the cleaning, waxing, buffing, polishing, and sealing of interior walkways. Domingue alleges that maintenance staff applied a treatment product to the Deck 8 flooring that left behind a sticky film or chemical residue. According to the filing, this tacky film resulted from improper product dilution, inadequate rinsing or buffing, or an adverse chemical interaction between the cleaning agent and the specific flooring finish installed on the vessel. Regardless of whether the hazard stemmed from a dried beverage spill or a chemical cleaning residue, the plaintiff contends that crew members failed to test and inspect the walkway before opening the high-traffic corridor to passengers.

Carnival Accused of Ignoring Prior Similar Sticky Floor Fall Lawsuits Across Its Cruise Ship Fleet

To establish that Carnival had both actual and constructive notice of the hazard, the lawsuit points to the continuous presence of crew members in the Deck 8 dining corridor, the availability of closed-circuit surveillance cameras monitoring the elevator landings, and a lengthy history of similar passenger injuries. Domingue’s legal team cites eight prior federal lawsuits filed in the Southern District of Florida involving passengers whose shoes stuck to tacky interior floors aboard Carnival vessels, resulting in abrupt falls and severe fractures.

Specifically, the complaint references Collins v. Carnival Corporation aboard the Carnival Conquest, Ortiz v. Carnival Corporation aboard the Carnival Miracle, Mallory v. Carnival Corporation aboard the Carnival Valor, Linda Taylor v. Carnival Corporation aboard the Carnival Magic, Hailey v. Carnival Corporation aboard the Carnival Sunshine, and Bigner v. Carnival Corporation aboard the Carnival Liberty. Of particular significance to this litigation are two recent cases, Oduardo v. Carnival Corporation and Teague v. Carnival Corporation, both of which involved passengers falling after their footwear adhered to sticky substances on Deck 8 of the Carnival Celebration. Because the Carnival Celebration and the Carnival Jubilee are sister ships belonging to the same Excel-class vessel design, the complaint argues that Carnival was fully aware of the specific flooring vulnerabilities and recurring maintenance failures on Deck 8 of its Excel-class fleet.

Complaint Claims Negligent Flooring Design and Unsafe Surface Transitions on Deck 8 of Carnival Jubilee

In addition to maintenance and warning failures, Domingue brings a dedicated count for negligent design against the cruise operator. The lawsuit alleges that Carnival directly participated in and approved the interior architectural plans for the Carnival Jubilee, including the specific selection of flooring materials, coatings, and surface transitions outside the Deck 8 elevators.

The plaintiff asserts that the flooring finish chosen for that corridor was defectively designed because it had a known propensity to become sticky and adhere to passenger footwear when exposed to foreseeable food spills or standard shipboard cleaning agents. Furthermore, the complaint faults the engineering of the transition point between the carpeted elevator bank and the adjoining hard walkway, arguing that it subjected disembarking elevator passengers to an abrupt and dangerous shift in surface grip without adequate testing or modification following prior fleetwide accidents.

Plaintiff Seeks Compensation for Permanent Knee Injuries, Medical Costs, and Lost Cruise Value Under Maritime Law

The complaint sets forth four formal counts of maritime negligence against Carnival Corporation: negligent failure to warn, negligent failure to maintain, negligent design, and general negligence. Domingue alleges that Carnival breached its non-delegable legal duty to provide paying passengers with reasonable care under the circumstances. As a proximate result of the fall, she claims to have suffered permanent or continuing bodily injuries, physical pain, mental anguish, disability, disfigurement, and the aggravation of pre-existing medical conditions. She is demanding a trial by jury to recover damages for past and future medical expenses, diminished earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, and the complete loss of the value of her cruise vacation and associated travel costs.

Contact a Florida Cruise Ship Slip and Fall Lawyer Today if You Were Injured on an Unsafe Walkway at Sea

Passengers who suffer serious injuries due to sticky floors, chemical cleaning residues, uncleaned food and drink spills, or defective flooring transitions aboard a cruise ship may have legal recourse under federal maritime law. Cruise lines like Carnival have a strict legal obligation to inspect high-traffic passenger corridors, properly apply maintenance products, and warn guests of hidden trip and fall hazards before injuries occur.

If you or a loved one sustained a knee injury, fracture, or other trauma in a cruise ship slip, trip, and fall accident, contact our experienced maritime personal injury attorneys today to discuss your case and learn how we can help protect your rights. https://holzberglegal.com/contact-us/

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.