HR Manager Sues P&O for £9.7m After Cruise Ship Lavatory Fall

An HR manager is suing P&O Cruises for £9.7 million after slipping on a wet floor in a cruise ship lavatory, a court has heard.

Kerry Middleton, 52, fractured a bone in her neck when she fell in a toilet on board the MV Britannia while attending a management meeting in October 2019. Although doctors said the injury should have healed within six months, Mrs Middleton later developed a rare neurological condition that she claims has left her wheelchair-bound and unable to work.

Mrs Middleton, a mother, was subsequently diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition affecting how the brain sends and receives signals to the body. Her barrister, Eliot Woolf KC, told the High Court that her symptoms include seizures and hemiplegia — paralysis on one side of the body. The causes of FND are not fully understood, but it is thought to be linked to injury, trauma or severe stress.

Liability for the accident has already been admitted by P&O, but its parent company, Carnival Plc, is contesting the scale of the compensation claim. Lawyers for Carnival argue that Mrs Middleton's condition was not caused by the fall and suggest instead that workplace stress may have been responsible. James Todd KC, representing Carnival, told the court that a more likely trigger was the stress of Mrs Middleton receiving a work performance rating described as "below standard".

Carnival has also raised doubts about the severity of Mrs Middleton's ongoing disabilities, citing covert surveillance footage filmed through the window of her home. The footage, shot on New Year's Eve 2024, allegedly shows her walking with "completely normal mobility" while preparing a family meal. Mr Todd told the judge the video undermined her credibility, contrasting it with a medical report made four months later in which she said she could stand but not walk.

While Carnival does not allege fraud, Mr Todd said one medical expert had observed a tendency in Mrs Middleton to "catastrophise and to play up her symptoms".

Mrs Middleton's legal team strongly objected to the late introduction of the footage. Mr Woolf described it as an "ambush" and argued it should be excluded. He also said his client would deny any link between her performance review and the onset of her condition.

After a day of legal argument, Judge Tim Moloney ruled that the surveillance footage could be admitted as evidence, saying it was necessary to ensure a fair trial. As a result, the trial scheduled for later this month has been postponed to allow time for the new evidence to be assessed.

The case will now be heard at a later date.

Whitestone Solicitors