Caroline Perreault’s lawsuit is against the operator Sunwing, even though the facility is owned by the Cuban government
14ymedio, Madrid, 11 March 2025 — Caroline Perreault, a Quebec tourist who suffered an accident in Cuba, claims $200,000 from the Canadian operator Sunwing, which she considers responsible not only for the physical damage suffered, but also for emotional damages. It is not clear, in any case, who is responsible for the event: if it is the Starfish hotel, where the events occurred, or the Cuban government, which owns the facilities.
The legal mess began a year ago, when Caroline and her partner, Gilbert Therrien, stayed in a hotel in Cayo Guillermo, in the popular destination of Jardines del Rey (Ciego de Ávila). On April 9, while they were sitting on the beach, the pergola of the neighboring hotel, the Starfish, managed by the Canadian giant Blue Diamond – who they describe as bad – was blown by the wind and hit her in the head.
Perreault provides Radio Canada with images of the dramatic moment, when a crowd surrounded her on the seashore fearing for her life. “She wasn’t breathing,” her partner adds. The diagnosis was devastating: three broken vertebrae, concussion and an acute post-traumatic stress disorder that currently makes her afraid every time she hears the wind against a window.
“Cubans are very good people, but they don’t have materials,” says the tourist, who appreciates the assistance of the nurses
Therrien describes the ordeal of Caroline – a health worker in Canada – as long and terrible. In the hospital – whose name is not specified – there was no drinking water, much less hot water, nor any pain medications.
“Cubans are very good people, but they don’t have materials,” says the tourist, who appreciates the assistance of the nurses. Later, she was repatriated by medevac in a plane to Quebec, where she underwent surgery to repair the fractured lumbar vertebrae. “Two metal bars that, unfortunately, will stay there for life. And I have two other fractures in the upper back, which are compression fractures, which are not operable,” she describes.
According to the Canadian media that reported her story, the couple can’t help but get excited when they remember those days, but all the pain turns into rage when they relate the complexity of being compensated for what happened. “We are angry with Sunwing, which sends people to hotels in Cuba where they are not safe. I think they have a large share of responsibility.”
“What this case illustrates is the obligation to never make a trip without having a minimum of insurance,” says Jacqueline Bissonnette, a lawyer consulted for the case. Perreault, thanks to her work in the health field, had good insurance coverage for treatment and repatriation, but, as she points out, it is impossible to find a policy that covers absolutely everything.
She has needed treatment to overcome the trauma and physiotherapy to recover mobility, which she lost by 25%
After evaluating it with a lawyer, Perreault decided to claim 200,000 dollars from Sunwing. In addition to all the damage suffered, she has needed treatment to overcome the trauma and physiotherapy to recover mobility; she has lost 25% and it leads her to suffer from chronic back pain.
As if that were not enough, the accident has ruined one of her dreams. After retiring, she had opened a massage therapy center and was very excited, but it is too much of a physical job for her to continue doing it. “It really changed my life completely. There was a before and an after. I’m still suffering from the after effects,” she explains..
“The owner of a property is always responsible for the damage that occurs as a result of the collapse of his building. […] Therefore, it is clear that there is negligence, yes: the facilities must be safe. It is not normal for a pergola to collapse like this, suddenly,” says Alexandre Brosseau-Wery, another lawyer – specialist in this type of injury – consulted by Radio Canada.
One of the complications of the case is that the pergola was not from the hotel where the victim was staying, but the one next door. “If the incident had occurred in your hotel, the legal situation would be much simpler, because the tour operator from whom you bought the package could be considered responsible for the bad facilities,” says the expert.
“The hotel,” says an acquaintance of the affected couple who comes every year because she loves the beach,” has been obsolete for a long time, for years and years. Naturally, it’s going to get worse because they never repair what is broken.”
Indeed, Therrien claims to have photos that indicate that, after the accident, the pergolas were replaced. Brosseau-Wery urges the couple to try to prove that Sunwing “knew about the potential dangers existing in the neighborhood of the hotel and should have warned its customers.”
“It’s easy to wash your hands and then say: ’We can’t investigate, it’s Cuba’s thing’. “
The insurance multinational Zurich, which provides coverage to Sunwing, argues that both the hotel and the pergola belong to the Cuban State and it is not in their hands to question the conditions of the facilities. “It’s easy to wash your hands and then say: ’We can’t investigate, it’s Cuba’s business,’” says Therrien indignantly.
The media also consulted with Luc Renaud, professor in the Department of Urban and Tourist Studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal, who told the Canadian public how the Cuban military company, Gaesa, controls “most of the luxury hotels. Tourism in Cuba remains an economic instrument at the service of the State and the Army,” he says.
Suing the Government is, according to the lawyer, “extremely difficult. People travel to a foreign country where there is a legal regime different from ours with actors who do not have their domicile in Quebec or who do not necessarily own properties in Quebec,” he adds.
The case, which was announced this Monday in the Canadian press, joins several other incidents that occurred to Canadians – the largest tourist market for Cuba in the last two years, despite its fall, in 2024, of almost 10%. Although the impact of these testimonies, increasingly common, has begun to generate distrust among tour operators, the Canadian Government and travelers from Canada, the number of Canadian tourists arriving on the Island is still overwhelming: 860,877 in 2024, far ahead of the Cuban community abroad that represents the second largest group, with 294,816 last year.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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