A Portuguese waitress who worked for ten days with three broken ribs on a Disney Dream ship will receive 3.5 million euros in compensation.
The case dates back to September 2013, when 33-year-old Maria Ana Martins was working as a waitress on the ‘Disney Dream’ ship from Florida to the Caribbean. It was while she was in the Bahamas that she was hit by a car.
On her return to the ship, the doctors did not detect any injuries and considered that she was able to continue working. Despite being in severe pain, Maria Martins continued to work for a further ten days. It was only on her return to Florida, where she sought medical attention, that she was found to have three broken ribs. The company eventually sent her back to Portugal, where she underwent five months of treatment.
In April 2014 she tried to go back to work, but was still in pain. On her subsequent return to Portugal, it was discovered that a nerve had been damaged in the accident and in December 2015, she filed a lawsuit against Disney Dream.
According to a news report by US newspaper Miami Herald “Portuguese lawyer Julio Ayala claimed that the cruise company was negligent and failed to provide adequate medical care to the employee. For its part, Disney Cruise Line has ensured that it has fulfilled its duties of care under maritime law.”
On December 19, 2019, the court ruled that Disney Cruise would pay four million dollars (3.59 million euros) to their former employee.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com