Family sues cruise ship line after passenger death declared homicide | World | News
The family of the man who died on a cruise ship bound for Mexico says Royal Caribbean is responsible for his sudden death. Michael Virgil, 35, died on December 13, 2024, while en route to Ensenada, Mexico, after he was detained by security for trying to break down a door as part of a drunken tirade. The lawsuit, filed by Mr. Virgil’s fiancee, Connie Aguilar, and her sons accused the cruise line of serving him “33 alcoholic beverages” earlier in the evening.
Papers claim the 35-year-old man then became agitated and began drunkenly searching for his fiancée and son, resulting in an outburst that prompted staff to inject him with a tranquiliser. According to the lawsuit, Mr. Virgil was the victim of “excessive force and lethal actions by the crew, including security and medical personnel” who “injected Haloperidol, a sedative drug, and used multiple canisters of pepper spray.”
Mr. Virgil’s fiancee and son allege that the staff’s actions “led to significant hypoxia and respiratory failure, leading to respiratory failure, cardiovascular instability, and ultimately cardiopulmonary arrest, leading to his death, which was ruled a homicide.” people.com reports.
The wrongful death complaint continued: “[Mr Virgil] He was visibly intoxicated, so much so that each of the Royal Carribean crew members should not have continued to serve him alcohol while he was exhibiting these visible signs of intoxication, and each of these crew members was negligent in continuing the service [him] “He was drinking alcoholic beverages while intoxicated.”
The tragic incident occurred aboard Royal Caribbean’s ‘Navigator of the Seas’ just an hour after the 300-foot ship left its port in Los Angeles.
In a video obtained by Fox11, Mr. Virgil can be seen trying to kick in the door before taking off his shirt. Later footage showed him lying on the floor in the same corridor, surrounded by officers in handcuffs and zip ties.
“The drunk gentleman said he was going to kill us and then started chasing us down the hallway,” eyewitness Christifer Mikhail told the news outlet.
The 35-year-old patient died from the combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, obesity, cardiomegaly and ethanol poisoning, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner. The investigator also confirmed the death was being treated as a homicide.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: “We are saddened by the death of one of our guests, have worked with authorities on the investigation and will refrain from commenting further on pending litigation.”
