A lawsuit filed against Carnival Corporation alleges that its hand-selected excursion operators drugged a 22-year-old woman with a substance used to facilitate sexual assault, directed her into the water from a ferry, and then engaged the vessel's propellers, resulting in catastrophic injuries including the amputation of both legs. The incident occurred on May 12, 2025, just two weeks after Hannah Smith graduated summa cum laude from college, during the "Pearl Island Beach Escape with Lunch" Carnival Adventure excursion in Nassau, Bahamas.
The Amended Complaint, filed by Brais Law Firm and Scolaro, P.A. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Case No. 1:25-cv-25952-WPD), alleges that Carnival's promotional website represented that it "hand-selected the best local providers at every port of call" and that its operators are "reliable [and] reputable" with the "best reputation." The excursion was sold aboard the Carnival Celebration and operated by Carnival's shoreside contractors, Pearl Island Investment Management Group, Ltd. and Sun Cay, Ltd.
According to the complaint, upon arriving at Pearl Island, excursion bartenders immediately plied Smith and her companions with "copious and unsafe amounts of alcohol," beginning with a 16 oz. complimentary rum punch and followed by three coerced "liter pours"—an inverted plastic liter bottle of alcohol mixed with a drug poured directly into her mouth. Unaware the drinks had been spiked with a drug-facilitated-sexual-assault (DFSA) and sedating substance, she became impaired. The complaint also alleges that employees furnished marijuana. Within approximately one hour and eleven minutes, her estimated effective blood alcohol content exceeded four times the legal limit.
During the return trip to Nassau aboard the Sun Cay Catamaran Ferry, Smith asked a crewmember for a restroom and was told to "use the water," consistent with earlier instructions that "the ocean is your toilet." Grossly impaired and following those instructions, she entered the water from the ferry's aft dive platform. The captain, stationed at a raised helm station with an unobstructed view, then engaged the ferry's engine, causing the propeller to turn in reverse. With no warning and no crewmember present, Smith was violently sucked into the propeller.
The propeller caused an immediate traumatic amputation of her left leg below the knee and catastrophic injuries to her right leg, ultimately requiring three successive amputations culminating in a complete hip disarticulation—the removal of the entire right leg. She lost over 60% of her total blood volume, underwent more than 25 surgeries, and was hospitalized for more than two months. Her medical care is alleged to exceed ten million dollars. Smith now faces permanent bilateral lower-extremity loss and lifelong physical, psychological, and financial consequences.
The complaint alleges that complaints of extreme alcohol overservice and marijuana distribution on this excursion predated Smith's injuries by at least six years. Prior reviews document a catamaran ferry failing to properly tie off with engines running during passenger disembarkation, a passenger's leg injury from the boarding gap, and a post headlined "Avoid this dangerous dump" advising guests to "avoid if you value your safety." Carnival's own bridge officers could observe these dangerous ferry practices directly from the bridge wings of the Carnival Celebration at the Nassau pier, and the complaint alleges Carnival deleted and suppressed negative passenger reviews of this excursion from its website.
The Amended Complaint asserts claims against Carnival for negligent selection and retention of the excursion entities, negligent supervision, failure to warn, general negligence, apparent agency, and joint venture liability. Direct negligence claims, including overservice of alcohol, distribution of controlled substances, and DFSA spiking, are asserted against Pearl Island and Sun Cay. Both entities have filed motions to dismiss asserting lack of personal jurisdiction.
Despite her devastating injuries, Smith has chosen to use her experience to help others. In 2026, she was invited to speak as a keynote survivor at the HCA Florida Trauma Survivors Luncheon, addressing medical professionals, fellow survivors, and community supporters. Anchored by an unshakeable faith in God, Smith spoke not about what she had lost, but about her sense of responsibility to help others, demonstrating that survival is not the end of a story but the beginning of one. Her keynote address was featured by LiveNOW from FOX: College Graduate Who Lost Both Legs Speaks Out.
"Hannah graduated summa cum laude and was two weeks into celebrating that achievement when Carnival's own hand-selected operators spiked her drinks with a substance used to impair intended victims, poured alcohol down her throat, and then directed a grossly impaired young woman into the water alongside a ferry whose captain was using running engines to hold the vessel in position because it had never been properly tied off," said Keith S. Brais, Board Certified Admiralty and Maritime Attorney and Smith's lead counsel at Brais Law Firm. "The evidence raises serious questions about what Carnival knew, what it ignored for years, and what it actively concealed from its own passengers."
"This is not just a case about one young woman's injuries—devastating as they are," added Thomas "Tom" Scolaro of Scolaro, P.A., co-counsel for Smith. "It is about an industry practice of placing revenue over passenger safety and hiding the evidence of that choice from the very people who trusted a major cruise line when it told them these were the best operators it could find."
Brais Law Firm and Scolaro, P.A. are urgently seeking witnesses with firsthand knowledge of excessive alcohol service, marijuana distribution, DFSA substances added to drinks, unsafe embarkation/disembarkation practices aboard the catamaran ferry, or inappropriate conduct by any Pearl Island or Sun Cay employee. All inquiries are held in the strictest confidence. More information about the case is available on Brais Law Firm's website.
