The fiancée of a man who died on a cruise ship has sued Royal Caribbean for wrongful death, alleging that she negligently served him at least 33 alcoholic beverages and was responsible for his death after crew members threw him to the ground and stood on him with their full body weight.
Connie Aguilar’s lawsuit over the death of 35-year-old Michael Virgil seeks unspecified damages and a jury trial. Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.
Aguilar and Virgil were on a round-trip flight 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.
She added that crew members on board the Navigator of the Seas offered Virgil more than two dozen drinks, after which he lost his way and became agitated while trying to find his room. That’s when crew members tackled him and stood on him with their full weight, the lawsuit charges. They subjected him to prolonged restraint, put pressure on his back and torso, and impeded his breathing, the lawsuit said.
At the captain’s request, crew members administered a sedative and sprayed him with pepper spray, the lawsuit said.
She continued that this treatment led to respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and Virgil’s death.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. She said Virgil died from the combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, which is when force or the body prevents breathing; obesity; Cardiomegaly and alcohol poisoning.
Video filmed by passenger Christopher McHale and Obtained by KTTV From Los Angeles Virgil appears in a narrow hallway kicking down a door.
Virgil shouted profanities, threatened to kill McHale and a crew member and chased them down the hallway, a KTTV report said. One crew member locked herself in the towel room, and Virgil then tried to kick her out, McHale said.
The video depicts security guards and others holding Virgil to the ground.
McHale said no one deserves to die the way Virgil did.
“He just needed some help,” McHale said.
The crew members should not have served Virgil alcohol because he “showed clear visible signs of intoxication” and were negligent in doing so, the lawsuit said.
Maritime common law requires carriers like Royal Caribbean to “supervise and assist passengers who are likely to engage in conduct that is dangerous to themselves or others,” the lawsuit said.
Royal Caribbean also failed to exercise its right to stop serving Virgil alcohol to protect his life, the lawsuit said.
She added that the company’s ships are deliberately designed to ensure there are alcohol serving stations “in every nook and cranny” and that the company “does its best to encourage and facilitate alcohol consumption” on board.
The lawsuit said medical personnel on board lacked proper education, licenses, experience and skills, and also failed to properly train crew members to assess when to stop serving passengers.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Miami, where Royal Caribbean, the world’s second-largest cruise company, is headquartered.