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The fiancé of a cruise ship passenger who died after being detained in a drunken rage on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Mexico has filed a lawsuit against the cruise line
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Michael Virgil, 35, died less than an hour after being detained by security on Navigator of the Seas on December 13, 2024
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The complaint alleges that starting around 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, Virgil, who was participating in the ship’s all-inclusive beverage package, was “negligently served” at least 33 alcoholic beverages.
The fiancée of a cruise ship passenger who died after being detained during a drunken, threatening outburst on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship bound for Mexico has filed a lawsuit against the cruise line.
Michael Virgil, 35, died less than an hour after being detained by security aboard the Navigator of the Seas on Dec. 13, 2024, the same day he boarded the ship from the Port of San Pedro near Los Angeles.
According to a wrongful death complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Vigil was on a cruise ship to Ensenada, Mexico, with his fiancé, their then-7-year-old son, and family.
The complaint alleges that starting around 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, Virgil, who was participating in the ship’s all-inclusive beverage package, was “negligently served” at least 33 alcoholic beverages.
“[Virgil] was clearly intoxicated and therefore every member of Royal Caribbean’s crew should not have continued to serve him alcohol when he showed these obvious signs of intoxication, and every one of these crew members were negligent in continuing to serve him [Virgil] He consumed an alcoholic beverage while in an intoxicated state. “
According to the complaint, Virgil tried to find his cabin but got lost and became restless.
Horacio Villalobos – Corbis/Getty
MS Navigator of the Seas
Video captured by passenger Christifer Mikhail and obtained by Fox 11 shows Virgil repeatedly kicking open a door in the ship’s hallway and yelling, “I’m going to knock you out,” as ship security surrounded him.
Mikhail told FOX 11 that Virgil began making threats after getting off the elevator on the wrong floor.
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“The drunk gentleman said he was going to kill us, and then he started chasing us down the hallway,” Mikhail told Fox 11, referring to himself and a crew member who “locked themselves in a towel room.”
The complaint says the crew pushed Vigil to the ground and stood on top of him “with their full weight,” “compressing” his body and causing him to stop moving.
Virgil was allegedly “subjected to a prolonged prone restraint with multiple members of the Royal Caribbean crew exerting pressure on him” [his] Back and trunk, impairing chest expansion, restricting diaphragm movement, impeding venous return, resulting in dyspnea and hypoxia. “
The complaint states that the crew, at the request of the captain, injected Vigil with the sedative haloperidol and sprayed him with multiple canisters of pepper spray.
His death was ruled a homicide “due to the Royal Caribbean crew’s use of force and intoxication from excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, which directly resulted in the deterioration of the physiological condition leading to death,” according to the indictment. [Virgil’s] die. “
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, Vigil died from the combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, obesity, cardiac enlargement and ethanol intoxication. The medical examiner confirmed that his death was ruled a homicide.
According to the complaint, Vigil’s body was “refrigerated” on the cruise ship as it continued to the port of Ensenada. Returned to Los Angeles on December 16th.
Royal Caribbean issued a statement to PEOPLE saying, “We are saddened by the death of a guest and are cooperating with authorities in the investigation and will refrain from any further comment on pending litigation.”
Read the original article on People
