Several passengers from Utah and Arizona are suing Disney Cruise Line, claiming that they caught COVID-19 while on board the Disney Fantasy in March 2020, before the voyages were interrupted.
On March 2, 2021, the passengers filed four lawsuits seeking unspecified damages, in the Orlando section of the federal court. According to the lawsuits, Disney did not allow the passengers to cancel or reschedule their voyages, even though they “harmed autoimmune diseases or health conditions”, leaving them “without any option” but to travel on their trip in March. 2020 to go.
“Disney continued to allow passengers … to eat in buffet settings, to offer group entertainment activities on board the vessel (such as dancing) and otherwise allowed passengers to participate fully in the subject voyage as if there was no COVID -19 outbreak or threat thereof was on board. vessel, ”read the lawsuits.
The plaintiffs are residents of Arizona, Judy Parkin and Krystal Skinner, and residents of Utah, Kailee Taylor and Scott and Jana Olsen. They all kept the same Miami law firm.
The passengers all claim to have contracted the virus while on board their cruise from 7 to 14 March. It was on March 8, 2020 that the U.S. State Department recommended that Americans not travel on cruise ships.
Scott and Jana Olson took their child, who has an autoimmune disease, to a hospital on March 16, 2020 with a high fever and breathing problems. The child tested positive for COVID-19 on May 1, and the parents also tested positive. Their lawsuit stated: “Plaintiff feared for their own lives as well as the lives of each other.”
Krystal Skinner’s child, who also has an autoimmune disorder, suffered from body aches, fever, chills and cough during the voyage. Her other child, who has asthma, had migraines, fever and breathing problems. Skinner himself also felt sick on board and all three tested positive for COVID-19 on April 15th.
The lawsuits outline previous concerns about COVID-19 outbreaks on voyages, including Carnival’s Diamond Princess, which had nearly 700 cases in early February and was quarantined for two weeks in Japan’s Yokohama port. .
Neither Disney Cruise Line nor the passengers’ restrooms commented on the Orlando Sentinel.
Disney Cruise Line canceled all scheduled cruises through Mary 2021, and some cruises even further out there.
Source: Orlando Sentinel