Yana Propokeva v. Carnival Corporation d/b/a/ Carnival Cruise Lines
May 19, 2010OUTCOME: Confidential settlement
In July 2007, Yana Propokeva sustained a severe back injury while lifting heavy luggage while working aboard the M/V Carnival Conquest, a Panamanian-flagged cruise ship sailing out of Galveston, Texas. ... Ms. Propokeva, a native of Chelny, Russia, was working for Carnival as a Hotel Stewardess at the time of her injury. Ms. Propokeva was treated thereafter by the ship’s physician with various pain relievers. A January 11, 2008 MRI revealed disc herniations. As the medications were not helping her, she was treated by a doctor at UTMB-Galveston, with a diagnosis of lumbar spondylosis and disc herniation. These treatments were not effective, so she could not continue to work. She was then sent back to Russia, where she had chronic radiating back pain. She was unable to work for almost two years. A neurosurgeon at Moscow’s Orthospine Clinic reviewed the MRI and has recommended a laser reconstruction disc surgery. On December 11, 2008, a neurologist in Chelny, Russia diagnosed protruding discs at L4-L5 and L5-S1. On March 3, 2010, Ms. Propokeva underwent back surgery in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
