The fiancee of a man who died on a cruise ship has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Royal Caribbean, alleging it negligently served him at least 33 alcoholic drinks and was liable for his death after crew members tackled him to the ground and stood on him with their full body weight.
Connie Aguilar's lawsuit for the death of 35-year-old Michael Virgil seeks unspecified damages and a jury trial. Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on Tuesday.
Aguilar and Virgil were on a roundtrip voyage from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico, with other members of their family, including their son, at the time of Virgil's death in December 2024, the lawsuit said.
Crew members on board Navigator of the Seas served Virgil more than two dozen drinks, after which he got lost and became agitated trying to find his room, it said. That's when crew members tackled him and stood on him with their full weight, the lawsuit charges. They subjected him to prolonged prone restraint, compressed his back and torso, and impaired his breathing, the lawsuit said.
At the captain's request, crew members administered a sedative and sprayed him with pepper spray, the lawsuit said.
This treatment led to respiratory failure, cardiac arrest and Virgil's death, it continued.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. It said Virgil died from the combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, which is when force or an object blocks breathing; obesity; an enlarged heart and alcohol intoxication.
Video shot by passenger Christopher McHale and obtained by KTTV of Los Angeles shows Virgil in a narrow hallway kicking a door.
A KTTV report said Virgil screamed profanities, threatened to kill McHale and a crew member and chased them down a hallway. McHale said the crew member locked himself in a towel room, which Virgil then tried to kick down.
The video captures security guards and others eventually holding Virgil down on the floor.
McHale said nobody deserved to die the way Virgil did.
“He just needed some help,” McHale said.
The lawsuit said crew members should not have served Virgil alcohol because he “exhibited obvious visual signs of intoxication” and were negligent for doing so, the lawsuit said.
Maritime common law requires carriers like Royal Caribbean to “supervise and assist passengers likely to engage in behavior dangerous to themselves or others,” the lawsuit said.
Royal Caribbean also failed to exercise its right to stop serving alcohol to Virgil to protect his life, the lawsuit said.
The company's ships, it added, are deliberately designed to ensure there are alcohol-serving stations “in every nook and cranny” and the company “does as much as possible to encourage and facilitate alcohol consumption” on board.
The lawsuit said medical personnel on board lacked proper education, licenses, experience and skills and it failed to properly train crew members to assess when to stop serving a passenger.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Miami, where Royal Caribbean, the world’s second largest cruise company, has its headquarters.
FILE - A Royal Caribbean International cruise ship sits docked at PortMiami, March 14, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
