Royal Caribbean is facing a negligence lawsuit from a Texas passenger who claims she suffered a traumatic brain injury and spinal injuries after an access panel allegedly fell from behind a toilet and struck her on the head aboard Harmony of the Seas.
LeAnn Carpenter filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on 11th August 2026, seeking more than $75,000 in damages and requesting a jury trial.
The case relates to an incident during a seven-night Harmony of the Seas cruise from Port Canaveral in May 2025.
According to the complaint, Carpenter stopped to use a passenger restroom before attending a performance in the Royal Theater. While she was using the toilet, an access panel positioned behind it allegedly became dislodged without warning.
The panel is said to have struck Carpenter in the head with enough force to cause her to fall to the floor.
Her legal representatives, Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, allege that the panel should have been properly closed and secured to the wall.
The panel provided crew access to plumbing and other utilities located behind the toilet, meaning it could be opened for inspections, servicing, repairs and maintenance.
Carpenter’s lawsuit alleges that Royal Caribbean failed to ensure the panel was safely secured before passengers were allowed to use the restroom.
Royal Caribbean had not publicly commented on the allegations at the time of writing.
Passenger Sent Ashore For Medical Tests
Carpenter was given medical attention aboard Harmony of the Seas shortly after the incident.
According to the lawsuit, she experienced an altered state of awareness and memory loss following the impact. She was taken by wheelchair to the ship’s medical centre, where she was examined by a shipboard doctor, monitored by medical staff and given intravenous therapy.
She was subsequently sent ashore in Cozumel, Mexico, where further testing, including CT imaging of her head and skull, was carried out at Cozumel International Hospital.
It is not clear from the available information whether Carpenter was formally medically evacuated from the vessel or whether Cozumel was already a scheduled port of call.
Carpenter claims she has required continuing medical care since returning home, including diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, evaluations and further testing.
She says she was ultimately diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury accompanied by cognitive and psychological symptoms.
The symptoms alleged in the lawsuit include memory problems, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and a fear of driving.
Carpenter also claims she suffered spinal injuries resulting in continuing pain and other symptoms that have required further assessment and treatment.
The lawsuit contains three negligence counts against Royal Caribbean, covering alleged failures to remedy the hazardous condition, warn Carpenter about it and liability for the actions of employees or representatives responsible for the access panel.
Her lawyers argue there are several possible explanations for how the alleged hazard arose.
The complaint claims that a crew member may have previously opened the panel for maintenance and failed to secure it correctly, or that the panel itself could have been defective or damaged and should have been identified and repaired.
It further argues that because the alleged problem was concealed behind the panel, Carpenter had no reasonable way of knowing that it was not secured before using the restroom.
The lawsuit also claims Royal Caribbean is vicariously liable under general maritime law for any negligence by employees or representatives who inspected, serviced, repaired or otherwise handled the panel.
Royal Caribbean’s current US cruise contract requires written notice of personal injury claims within six months and generally requires any lawsuit to be filed within one year of the injury. It also specifies the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida for applicable disputes involving US cruises.
In Carpenter’s case, the contractual filing deadline was reportedly extended to 12th August 2026, with the lawsuit filed one day earlier.
No trial date has yet been set.
Royal Caribbean Facing Other Passenger Injury Claims
Carpenter’s case is not the only recent passenger injury lawsuit involving Royal Caribbean.
In another case filed in 2026, Florida passenger Colleen Parson accused the cruise line of negligence after she allegedly tripped over a mobility scooter while walking through a crowded casino aboard Jewel of the Seas in June 2025.
Parson claimed another passenger bumped into her, causing her to fall over the scooter and suffer a serious wrist fracture that required surgery. She sought more than $75,000 in damages.
Royal Caribbean denied responsibility in that case and argued that the scooter was an open and obvious condition that Parson should have seen.
The company has also faced a separate wrongful death lawsuit over the death of Michael Virgil aboard Navigator of the Seas in December 2024. His fiancée alleged that Virgil had been served at least 33 alcoholic drinks before becoming agitated and later being restrained by security personnel.
That lawsuit alleges negligence by Royal Caribbean in the service of alcohol and the way the incident was handled. Royal Caribbean did not immediately comment publicly on the lawsuit when it was filed.
The allegations in each case are separate, and the filing of a lawsuit does not establish that Royal Caribbean was negligent.
Harmony of the Seas, a 226,963-gross-ton cruise ship, continues to operate from Port Canaveral on Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries, with no indication that the lawsuit has affected normal passenger operations.
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