California nurse, 45, wins $300k payout from Carnival after she drank 14 shots of tequila, then fell and injured herself

By JAMES CIRRONE, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 23:31, 15 April 2026 | Updated: 23:37, 15 April 2026 A woman who took 14 shots of tequila aboard a Carnival cruise ship will receive $300,000 from the company after suing over injuries she sustained in a fall while intoxicated.  Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse who lives in Vacaville, California, was a passenger on the Carnival Radiance on January 5, 2024, when she was served the massive amount of liquor between 2:58pm and 11:37pm - roughly an eight-and-a-half-hour span, according to the lawsuit. Sanders said she blacked out and then fell between 11:45pm and 12:20am the next morning, according to the Miami Herald. She 'sustained severe injuries, including, but not limited to, a concussion, headaches, a possible traumatic brain injury, back injuries, tailbone injuries, bruising, and other injuries,' said the lawsuit. Her lawyers argued that Sanders should have been cut off by the bartenders once she was visibly drunk. Cruise ships staff are typically pretty loose with who they serve alcohol to, as long as they are of legal drinking age. Many cruise lines, including Carnival, also offer alcoholic beverage packages where customers can pay a flat fee beforehand and not be charged for each individual drink. This makes it easier to continue indulging, as you don't have to even pull out your credit card or cash. Notably, Carnival has a 15 alcoholic drink limit per 24 hours, one more than what Sanders claimed she consumed. Sanders sued Carnival in Florida, where the company is based. A Miami federal jury awarded her the six-figure payout after agreeing that the cruise line should have exercised reasonable care for the safety of their passengers. Diana Sanders (pictured with her lawyer, Spencer Aronfeld) admitted to taking at least 14 shots of tequila aboard the Carnival Radiance ship on January 5, 2024. She said she blacked out, then fell, suffering serious injuries Sanders sued the Florida-based company and a Miami federal jury awarded her $300,000, agreeing that the cruise line should have known not to overserve her The six jurors also said Carnival has 'the responsibility ... to supervise and/or assist passengers aboard the vessel who Carnival knew, or should have known, were engaging, or were likely to engage in behavior potentially dangerous to themselves or others abroad (sic) the vessel,' according to court documents. The jury said 60 percent of the fault lay with Carnival, while 40 percent of the fault was with Sanders. 'I felt like the whole time, [the jury] saw right through what the defense was trying to do, how they tried to defame my character, things they brought up that had nothing to do with the case. They were just trying to criminalize, bully me and make me look like a bad human being,' Sanders said in a social media video where she appeared with her lawyer, Spencer Aronfeld. Aronfeld, the founder of Aronfeld Trial Lawyers in Coral Gables, told the Miami Herald it's hard to bring these sorts of cases to trial. 'I've had many overservice cases that have settled but none that went the full distance,' he said. A spokesperson for Carnival said the company 'respectfully disagrees with the verdict and believes there are grounds for a new trial and appeal, which it will pursue.' Part of Carnival's defense was that Sanders did not 'identify any crew member who over-served her or which bar she consumed alcohol at for Carnival to have the ability to identify its bartenders,' according to court records. 'Therefore, the over-service of alcohol count should be dismissed for failure to sufficiently identify a negligent employee,' the Carnival lawyers continued. 'There are no allegations regarding Plaintiff stumbling, sleeping at a bar, slurring her words, or exhibiting any other intoxicated-like behaviors.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.