Attorney Anthony Russo
MIAMI - The fiancée of a cruise line passenger who died after being served 33 alcoholic beverages while traveling from San Pedro to Ensenada is suing Royal Caribbean, alleging that cruise line employees’ actions led to the man’s death.
Attorneys for Connie Aguilar filed the federal lawsuit on Dec. 5 in the Southern District of Florida, where the cruise line is based. The complaint says the death of California resident Michael Virgil, who was a passenger on the Navigator of the Seas vessel last year along with his fiancée and autistic son, was a homicide and that Royal Caribbean was vicariously liable for his death.
Over a seven-hour period at the start of the cruise, Virgil, 35, consumed at least 33 drinks at one of the ship’s bars even though he began “exhibiting visible signs of intoxication, confusion and distress,” according to the Texas law firm Kherker Garcia, which is representing Aguilar, along with the Florida-based Russo Firm.
A shirtless Virgil later attempted to find his cabin room but lost his way, according to the lawsuit, which indicated that Royal Caribbean security officers responded after he became agitated and started punching cabin walls.
“... Crew members, including security personnel, then tackled (Virgil) to the ground, stood on (his) body with their full weight and compressed (his) body, causing (the) decedent to stop moving,” the lawsuit states.
Crew members subjected Virgil’s back and torso to compressive force, limiting chest expansion, and impairing his breathing, the complaint says.
“The compression of (the) decedent’s body by … crew members … directly caused significant hypoxia and impaired ventilation, respiratory failure, cardiovascular instability and ultimately cardiopulmonary arrest leading to (Virgil’s) death,” the lawsuit states.
Royal Caribbean did not respond to a request for comment.
Anthony Russo, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, said incidents of negligence on cruise lines related to staffing and ship procedures are becoming more commonplace.
In the Royal Caribbean case, “there were several steps in between (Virgil’s boarding the ship and his death) when they could have stopped this from happening,” Russo told the Southern California Record. “It was a perfect storm of negligence on several levels.”
Crew members used multiple cans of pepper spray to subdue Virgil and also administered the sedative Haloperidol, according to the complaint. And the medical care given to Virgil by the staff was improper or inadequate given the circumstances, the lawsuit says.
“Tragically, Mr. Virgil was pronounced dead a few hours after the encounter,” the Kherker Garcia law firm said in a blog post. “His fiancée asked ship staff to return to port, but they refused. Alarmingly, his body was stored aboard the vessel while the cruise continued for multiple days.”
The lawsuit indicates that damages in this case are more than $75,000, not including attorney fees. The complaint alleges counts of vicarious liability and negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision against Royal Caribbean.
The Kherker Garcia law firm said the themes outlined in the lawsuit included the overserving of alcohol, improper restraint methods, excessive use of force and delayed medical response.
“Each of these failures not only puts passengers at risk – they also demonstrate how corporate systems and training can fail catastrophically, with life-altering consequences,” the law firm said.
Russo said he expects Royal Caribbean to file a formal pleading in the case in the next week or so.
