An Irish woman has sued for damages after she fractured her elbow during a cruise ship boat ride excursion.
Siobhan Kellett, of County Kildare to the west of the capital Dublin in Ireland, was on a seven-night Caribbean cruise in 2016 when the vessel docked at St Martin in the West Indies for the White Knuckle Boat Ride excursion, a court heard according to the Irish Independent.
The boat traveled at speeds of up to 53 miles per hour and was billed as "an adrenalin-infused rush from a water rollercoaster," The Irish Times reported. The trip on the fifth day of the cruise cost €120. Kellett says she and fellow passengers were given life jackets and told where to sit in the the "basic" boat which looked like a dumpster.
During the White Knuckle Boat Ride, the boat made a 360 degree turns. The dance teacher claimed this threw her from her seat, causing her to bang her elbow on the metal of the boat.
Recalling the moment in court she said: "We were out in the middle of the ocean and I was holding on tight but I banged my head against the skipper."
The skipper advised her to swap seats with her husband, who was sitting nearest the outside of the vessel. When the boat maneuvered again, Kellett says she lifted out of her seat.
"I remember thinking what was I going to do, tumble in to the water but I came back down on the seat and was thrown against the side of the boat and my right arm banged against the side," she said.
Kellett said she did not want to ruin the trip for the other passengers, but that the resulting pain left her feeling like a child "trying to be very, very brave," The Irish Independent reported. "I did not see it as being dangerous at all," she told the court of the excursion.
A medic examined Kellett back on the cruise ship, and said her elbow wasn't broken. Several weeks after the medic's assessment, doctors in Dublin confirmed she had sustained a non-displaced fracture on her right elbow.
The dance teacher was celebrating her 50th birthday and her silver wedding anniversary with her husband, and paid €3,674 for the cruise. The pair continued their trip with a five-day stint in Las Vegas, where they planned to attend a jive festival.
Kellett sued in the High Court, claiming the White Knuckle Boat Ride wasn't fitted with the correct safety equipment.
She is taking action against RCL Cruises, which runs the Freedom of the Seas cruise, and blames the company for organizing the excursion. She is also suing Panther Associates, with whom she booked the holiday.
The firms deny the claims, and argue Kellett didn't follow instructions and was responsible for her own safety. The case continues.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Kashmira Gander is Deputy Science Editor at Newsweek. Her interests include health, gender, LGBTQIA+ issues, human rights, subcultures, music, and lifestyle. Her ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
