A Florida man is suing Carnival Cruise Line over its “unreasonably and dangerously hot” pool deck, claiming he sustained second-degree burns on the soles of his feet while walking from the pool to his lounge chair.
Jorge Luis Alverio Nunez was on board the Carnival Magic in May 2025 when he allegedly got burned on the Lido deck while walking barefoot just 20 steps from the pool to his lounge chair, according to the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida.
“While a passenger may reasonably expect an exterior deck surface exposed to sunlight to become warm, Plaintiff could not reasonably anticipate that the deck surface had reached temperatures capable of causing severe second-degree burns within seconds of ordinary contact,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit alleges Nunez isn’t the first Carnival passenger to suffer burns on the hot surface. At least 25 Carnival guests were similarly burned in the six years before Nunez’s incident and another 42 had filed complaints about hot temperatures on the sun decks of its fleet of ships within the same time period, according to the complaint. In two more serious cases cited in the lawsuit, two passengers had sustained burns “so bad that that the passengers each required amputation of the foot and leg up to below the knee.”
One guest who sailed on Carnival Horizon in 2021 said they “literally burnt the soles” of their feet near a water park area and still had blisters a week later.
“The decking around the pool needs to be replaced,” another guest who sailed the Carnival Mardi Gras in 2023 said. “We were on a late August cruise and without exception everyone was hot hopping around the pool, the areas that were in direct sunlight. The decking was incredibly hot and caused burning of the feet… people were hot hopping around the pool.”
The lawsuit blames the pool deck material for causing the burns and notes the manufacturer, API, had warned Carnival as early as 2014 that it had the ability to “become dangerously hot.” API’s Syntheteak material is a resin-based top coat designed to resemble real wood that is commonly used on yachts and ships. It also has a propensity to sear under prolonged sun exposure, according to the complaint. API is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Nunez accuses Carnival of failing to take basic steps to address the hazard, including replacing the deck surface with a safer alternative, monitoring deck temperatures, cooling the surface, installing shading or requiring passengers to wear shoes in the area.
“Despite knowing that the deck material across its fleet has the likelihood to become unreasonably hot and cause burn injuries to barefoot passengers, the defendant has taken no action to remedy the dangerous condition,” the complaint said.
Nunez alleges he suffered a “severe and life changing injury” that resulted in medical expenses, disfigurement, mental anguish and loss of income. He is seeking in excess of $5 million in damages and a jury trial.
Carnival and API did not respond to a requests for comment.
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