Lawsuit Alleges Passenger Lost Both Legs in Boat Propeller Accident

A 22-year-old woman filed a lawsuit alleging she lost both legs after a boat propeller injured her during a day excursion from a Carnival Cruise in the Bahamas last May. The complaint states that Hannah Smith was on the cruise with a friend for a graduation trip and paid $79.99 for a Catamaran Ferry outing to Pearl Island Beach organized by the Sun Cay tour group.

According to the filing, staff provided complimentary drinks and marijuana throughout the day. The suit claims her blood alcohol level reached an estimated 0.447. The complaint says that toward the end of the trip Smith entered the water to urinate after staff urged her to do so and the engine had been shut off.

It alleges the captain then started an idling engine, causing the propeller to turn in reverse. The suit states Smith was pulled from the water with her left leg nearly severed and multiple gashes on both legs and pelvis. She lost more than 60 percent of her blood volume.

Smith was taken to a hospital in Nassau and later transferred to Miami. The complaint says dozens of surgeries and blood transfusions failed to save her legs, resulting in amputation of the left leg immediately and the right leg below the knee. The lawsuit names the tour group, Pearl Investment Management Group, boat operator Sun Cay, and Carnival Cruise as defendants.

It alleges Carnival marketed the excursion as a vetted, safe outing for passengers. The Post reached out to Carnival Cruise about the litigation but did not receive an immediate response.