Carnival Cruise Passenger Sues Claiming Bodily Injury
Carnival Cruise Lines was hit with a second lawsuit relating to the ill-fated trip of the Triumph, filed in Miami federal court today by a Houston woman who according to her attorney suffered severe dehydration and bruising from aggressive food lines.
Lisa Williams, 42, was so ill from the five days the ship was powerless at sea that she had to be given intravenous fluids in the emergency room when she returned home to Houston, her attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, told ABCNews.com.
"She was deprived of the basic fundamental necessities of life, and certainly not what one would expect on a luxury cruise ship," Aronfeld said. "People were struggling to get water and food."
The lawsuit alleges Carnival failed to "inspect for and to observe and resolve the hazard present within the vessel that ultimately affected all passengers aboard, including the Plaintiff."
"Plaintiff had been exposed to extremely toxic and debilitating conditions resulting in severe and permanent injuries," the lawsuit said.
Williams, whose voyage on the luxury liner was a gift from a friend, has called the five days of squalor at sea a "life altering experience," Aronfeld said.
AP Photo/Dave Martin
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"She had very little sleep and she described this as a life altering experience," he said. "She felt abandoned and fearful [of whether] she would see the next day."
Since being back on dry land, Aronfeld said Williams has seemed "incoherent" and "disoriented and exhausted" when he has called to check on her.
Williams' had been excited for the voyage, which had been a gift from her travel companion, Aronfeld said.
"Now, I'm sure she'd like to return this gift," he said.
A spokeswoman for Carnival told ABCNews.com the cruise line had not yet seen Williams' lawsuit and was "not in a position to comment."
WATCH: Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill Apologizes to Passengers
On Friday, the first lawsuit relating to the Carnival Triumph incident was filed against the cruise line.
Cassie Terry, 25, of Brazoria County, Texas, called the disabled Triumph cruise ship "a floating hell," according to court documents.
The filing also said that during the "horrifying and excruciating tow back to the United States," the ship tilted several times "causing human waste to spill out of non-functioning toilets, flood across the vessel's floors and halls, and drip down the vessel's walls."
Carnival's original plan was to tow the damaged ship to Progreso, Mexico, because it was the closest port, but by the time tugboats arrived, the ship had drifted about 90 miles north due to strong currents, putting it nearly equidistant to Mobile, Ala.
The ship arrived in the port late Thursday night. Some passengers, weary from their experience at sea, were so happy to see dry ground that they kissed it.
ABC News' Christina Ng contributed to this report.
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