Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
A woman was detained at Port Miami and later charged with child abuse after authorities say she tackled a teenager to the ground, according to national media outlets.
Paetra Ann Grandsberry, 38, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, was charged on Monday, Dec. 22, after the ship she was on docked at Port Miami.
The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, while the ship was near the Bahamas, People reported on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Security had been made aware that teens were fighting aboard the ship and Grandsberry told officers that her two sons were “attacked by several kids.”
While speaking with security, a group of teens passed by and Grandsberry, believing they were the ones involved, allegedly ran after them and “jumped on top of the victim and grabbed him by his collar,” per police reports obtained by the media. The boy told authorities that he was walking down the hallway and started running because he worried they were running “from a perceived threat.”
Grandsberry told police that, while running after the teen, she accidentally fell on the child and called him a name before getting up and walking away.
She was issued a $2,500 surety bond on Wednesday, Dec. 24 and released from custody.
Leesfield & Partners
When preparing for a voyage aboard a cruise ship, most passengers do not dwell on the possibility of injuries or death while at sea. However, as many previous clients of Leesfield & Partners can attest, being on vacation does not insulate you from injury.
Tragically, our firm has represented numerous clients who have lost a loved one due to the negligence of cruise ship personnel. Our skilled trial attorneys work tirelessly to secure the best possible outcome for every client, whether they were harmed on an excursion, while seeking assistance from the ship’s medical staff or while on the ship. For nearly five decades, Leesfield & Partners has been a tireless advocate for cruise ship and maritime safety.
As common carriers, cruise lines owe a heightened duty of care to ensure the safety and well-being of their passengers. This duty encompasses maintaining hazard-free decks, promptly repairing loose railings and ensuring that excursion transportation – such as buses – are safe and properly maintained.
Additionally, cruise lines are obligated to provide adequate medical care while at sea and to recognize when a passenger’s condition requires emergency evacuation. Similarly, they must take reasonable measures to protect passengers from criminal acts, whether committed by fellow passengers or crew members.
Leesfield & Partners is handling an ongoing case involving a crew member who placed a hidden camera in the cabins of unsuspecting cruise ship passengers. Many of the passengers who were filmed were children. This crew member was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child sex abuse material.
Despite the sentencing, this nightmare is far from over for these victims. Left reeling with this horrific invasion of privacy, our client was left traumatized.
That case is being handled by Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II.
Previous Onboard Injury Cases
Leesfield & Partners previously represented a Canadian woman who was traveling on a cruise ship when she was horrifically raped. The woman was in her cabin alone when a member of the ship’s crew abused his employee status and used a keycard to access the woman’s room where he attacked her.
The firm secured a multi-million-dollar amount for the woman in that case.
The firm recovered $2.5 million for a 9-year-old who collided with an unpadded steel grommet while diving for an out-of-bounds ball as he played on a ship’s basketball court. The child in that case suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a result on the traumatic incident.
Similarly, the firm represented a man, 62, who was injured while playing pickleball aboard his cruise ship. The firm settled the case for $500,000.
The firm obtained a confidential settlement for a family devastated by the tragic loss of their young daughter. In that case, the child was separated from her family aboard a ship when she leaned over a poorly designed cruise ship railing and fell five stories to her death.
Previous Excursion Injury Cases
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented the family of mother and daughter who booked a parasailing adventure on their cruise ship. While out on the excursion, and suspended hundreds of feet in the air, a piece of equipment snapped and sent the two falling into the water.
The mother was killed, and her daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury. The cruise ship attempted to distance itself from the excursion operators and claimed that they were an independent contractor, however, Leesfield & Partners attorneys were able to disprove this theory by demonstrating that the ship marketed the excursion and offered tickets for sale on board.
The firm settled the case for $7.25 million.
Leesfield & Partners represented a family whose son, a special needs man, died following a crash on a cruise ship excursion. In that case, the bus careened off a cliff on a cruise-sponsored shore excursion. The son was ejected and died in front of his family.
The firm settled the case for $2,990,000.
A rollover ATV crash on a shore excursion caused serious injuries to multiple passengers. Leesfield & Partners settled the case for over $1.2 million.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro handled a case for a client who was seriously injured in a shocking and painful cruise ship excursion accident.
Our 68-year-old client sustained severe injuries, including a fractured femur, when thrown off a “banana boat” during a cruise’s water sport excursion. The firm secured a $600,000 settlement in that case.
Ongoing Excursion Cases
Mr. Pimentel is handling an ongoing case of a woman who was further injured by crew members after returning to her cruise from shore. The woman tripped and fell on an uneven bridge on shore, seriously injured her left ankle, knee, arm and elbow, leaving her in a great deal of pain. She was able to walk back to the tender boat where she informed the crew she would need to see the ship’s physician.
No action was taken to ensure that medical personnel would be there to meet her when she arrived. She disembarked without assistance and, while walking up the gangway, paused to gather herself while in extreme pain. She told the crew she needed immediate medical attention. The crew, again, failed to provide a wheelchair or another means of transport to the infirmary. While still on the gangway, crew members approached our client and grabbed her arm. She fell to the floor in agony and was finally given a wheelchair and taken to the infirmary.
While there, she was diagnosed with multiple fractures to her hip and shoulder. Hours later, she was transferred to a remote hospital in Brazil and was left to wait a full week with insufficient medical care before she could be transported to a larger city and then to the U.S. for a full hip replacement.
She spent weeks recovering at a hospital in Florida before she was able to return to her home in another state.
