A Pennsylvania man who broke his neck while surfing on a cruise ship FlowRider wave simulation attraction sued Royal Caribbean on Monday, claiming the cruise line was negligent and has failed to address problems with the attraction despite a number of injuries.
In a suit filed in federal court in Miami, plaintiff Jason Keller says Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has known about potential dangers with its shipboard FlowRiders but has failed to address them or adequately warn ship passengers.
Keller, who was a passenger on the Adventure of the Seas in February 2025, says he “violently fell headfirst” and fractured his neck. The injury has caused multiple strokes that have left him with weakness on the left side of his body, according to the suit.
Keller said Royal Caribbean shortened the length of the standard FlowRider Surfing Simulator in order to fit it on the deck of a cruise ship — yet uses the same powerful motor as the standard model to create waves. Because of the shorter length, a person can be thrown into the back wall at a higher velocity than in the standard FlowRider, according to the suit.
“This makes an already inherently dangerous attraction even more dangerous, such that it becomes unreasonably dangerous,” Keller said. “This is not an obvious danger of which a passenger should be aware.”
He said FlowRiders now use “pillow padding” in the recovery zones to help decrease injuries, yet Royal Caribbean has not adopted this technology.
Royal Caribbean does not adequately warn passengers about the dangers of the FlowRider, either on its website or in person at the attraction, according to the suit.
Keller also said that Royal Caribbean still has passengers sign an electronic personal injury waiver before using the FlowRider, despite a 2011 ruling from the Eleventh Circuit in Johnson v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. that said those same shipboard personal injury waivers are void and unenforceable.
“This is a blatant attempt by defendant to deter passengers who are not familiar with maritime law from filing a lawsuit or contacting an attorney due to injuries sustained while participating in a shipboard FlowRider,” Keller said. “The average passenger participant believes that they have no claim due to the personal injury waiver presented by defendant.”
The complaint lists nine lawsuits over FlowRider injuries sustained since 2019 to demonstrate that Royal Caribbean had notice of the dangers of the attraction.
He is also alleging medical negligence against the cruise line for misdiagnosing his neck fracture. Keller says the shipboard doctor ordered X-rays but said he did not see any neck bone fractures and advised Keller that he did not need to wear a cervical collar.
“As a direct result of Royal Caribbean’s doctor(s) misdiagnoses and improper advice to not wear a neck collar, plaintiff’s neck injury became worse than it otherwise would have been,” Keller said.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Keller is represented by Luis Alexander Perez of Lipcon Margulies & Winkleman PA.
Counsel information for Royal Caribbean was unavailable.
The case is Keller v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., case number 1:26-cv-20824, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
