A newly amended federal lawsuit alleges that Carnival Corporation, its shoreside contractors, and their employees drugged a 22-year-old woman, directed her into the water from a catamaran, and then started the boat's propellers, resulting in the traumatic amputation of her left leg and catastrophic injuries to her right leg, which ultimately required complete hip disarticulation.
The Amended Complaint and Jury Demand was filed on behalf of Hannah Smith by Brais Law Firm and Scolaro, P.A. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The incident occurred on May 12, 2025, just two weeks after Smith graduated summa cum laude from college, during the "Pearl Island Beach Escape with Lunch" Carnival Adventure excursion in Nassau, Bahamas.
According to the complaint, Carnival's own promotional website represented that it "hand-selected the best local providers at every port of call" and that its operators are "reliable [and] reputable" with the "best reputation." The excursion, sold aboard the Carnival Celebration, was operated by Carnival's shoreside contractors, Pearl Island and Sun Cay.
Upon arrival at Pearl Island, bartenders allegedly plied Smith and her companions with copious amounts of alcohol, beginning with a 16 oz. complimentary Rum Punch and followed by coerced "liter pours"—an inverted plastic bottle of alcohol mixed with a drug poured directly into her mouth. As alleged, the same employees surreptitiously spiked her drinks with a drug-facilitated-sexual-assault (DFSA) and sedating substance, all within about one hour and eleven minutes. Her estimated blood alcohol content exceeded four times the legal limit.
During the return trip, Smith asked a crewmember for a restroom and was told to "use the water," consistent with earlier instructions that "the ocean is your toilet." Grossly impaired, she entered the water from the ferry's aft dive platform. The captain then engaged the ferry's engine, causing the propeller to turn in reverse, sucking Smith into the propeller. The propeller caused immediate amputation of her left leg below the knee and catastrophic injuries to her right leg, ultimately requiring three successive amputations culminating in a complete hip disarticulation.
Smith lost over 60% of her total blood volume, underwent more than 25 surgeries, and was hospitalized for more than two months. Her medical care is alleged to exceed ten million dollars. She now faces permanent bilateral lower-extremity loss and lifelong physical, psychological, and financial consequences.
The complaint alleges that complaints of extreme alcohol overservice and marijuana distribution on this excursion predated Smith's injuries by at least six years. Prior reviews documented unsafe practices, including a catamaran ferry failing to properly tie off with engines running during passenger disembarkation. Carnival's own bridge officers could allegedly observe these dangerous practices from the Carnival Celebration at the Nassau pier. The complaint further alleges Carnival deleted and suppressed negative passenger reviews of this excursion from its website.
The lawsuit asserts claims against Carnival for negligent selection and retention, negligent supervision, failure to warn, general negligence, apparent agency, and joint venture liability. Direct negligence claims, including overservice of alcohol and DFSA spiking, are asserted against Pearl Island and Sun Cay. Both contractors have filed motions to dismiss asserting lack of personal jurisdiction.
Despite her injuries, Smith spoke as a keynote survivor at the 2026 HCA Florida Trauma Survivors Luncheon. As featured by LiveNOW from FOX, she addressed medical professionals and fellow survivors, demonstrating a commitment to helping others.
"Hannah graduated summa cum laude and was two weeks into celebrating that achievement when Carnival's own hand-selected operators spiked her drinks with a substance used to impair intended victims, poured alcohol down her throat, and then directed a grossly impaired young woman into the water alongside a ferry whose captain was using running engines to hold the vessel in position because it had never been properly tied off," said Keith S. Brais, Board Certified Admiralty and Maritime Attorney and lead counsel. "The evidence raises serious questions about what Carnival knew, what it ignored for years, and what it actively concealed from its own passengers."
