A young woman was celebrating her college graduation when a horrific incident caused her to lose both of her legs. Hannah Smith, 23, was on a Carnival Cruise in the Bahamas in May 2025 when she and her friend decided to book an excursion.
Somehow, during what should’ve been a fun day trip, Hannah was pulled in by the ferry’s spinning propeller after consuming a significant amount of alcohol. She lost 60 percent of her blood and had to be transported to the hospital to undergo numerous surgical procedures. Hannah is now suing the cruise line and excursion operators because the life-changing injuries have impacted her mental health and quality of life.
For the excursion, a ferry took Hannah and her friend to Pearl Island from Nassau.
Per the Daily Beast, they used the Carnival app to book it. The lawsuit alleges that by the time they were heading back to Nassau, they were “grossly impaired and compromised.” Staff allegedly started offering “complimentary” alcohol and marijuana to the young women as soon as they arrived.
Then, Hannah needed to use the bathroom. According to the lawsuit, she followed the advice that staff had given her. A crew member allegedly told her that she could relieve herself in the water. However, the lawsuit alleges that the boat was not actually docked properly when she tried to do so.
When Hannah got in the water, she suddenly seemed to disappear, according to her friend.
The friend had no idea what was going on. Then, Hannah resurfaced and reached her hand out, asking her friend for help. “And me and another woman had met on the cruise ship during the excursion with us, we pulled her out, and then there was like a lot of blood in the water,” Hannah’s friend told WREG.
Before she managed to get out, Hannah reportedly “felt her lower extremities being sucked under the vessel.”
The lawsuit states, “When [she] was pulled out of the water, her left leg below her knee was almost completely severed from her body except for a sliver of skin, and she had suffered multiple gashes throughout both legs and pelvis area,” per the New York Post.
Hannah is suing tour operators Pearl Management Group and Sun Cay for negligence.
In an online statement, attorney Keith S. Brais described Hannah as “a bright, accomplished young woman” who was “celebrating a tremendous academic milestone when she suffered these horrific injuries.” Carnival is also mentioned in the lawsuit. FOX 5 reported that Carnival Cruise Line allegedly promoted this particular excursion via its website and processed payments for it, but according to WREG, the cruise line is trying to get the case dismissed. It claims it does not own the tour companies that led this excursion.
A Carnival spokesperson told the Daily Mail, “Our thoughts are with Ms. Smith, and we wish her strength and healing. At Carnival Cruise Line, we continuously strive to keep our guest and crew safe as a priority.”
Hannah’s family launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to support Hannah as she recovers. “Our family is facing the unimaginable,” the page reads. “While on what was supposed to be a beautiful trip to the Bahamas Hannah was involved in a tragic accident that nearly claimed her life. Through the grace of God, she’s still with us, but the road ahead is long, filled with surgeries, recovery, and overwhelming medical costs.”
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