Lawsuit: Man Died After Royal Caribbean Served Him Dozens of Alcoholic Beverages and Sedated Him
The family of a man who died aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise is now suing the cruise line, claiming it caused the death of Michael Virgil, 35, who died aboard the Navigator of the Seas last December.
The lawsuit claims that Virgil was served 33 alcoholic drinks by the ship’s crew, and that later, their attempts to take him into custody after he became rambunctious contributed to his death.
Kevin Haynes, the attorney for the family, said overserving Virgil was the critical first step that led to the tragedy.
“They have a legal duty not to do so. And if you’re serving someone 25, 30-plus drinks, in no world could you not see that the person is intoxicated,” he said, according to KTTV-TV.
“Once they created that situation, he acted out. He did not act as a normal person would. Clearly, he was intoxicated. He is not a big drinker. He was known by his family as a gentle giant,” he said.
NEW: Man dies on a Royal Caribbean cruise after being served 33 drinks, family accuses cruise staff of injecting him with a sedative.
35-year-old Michael Virgil was seen having a meltdown after getting off the elevator on the wrong floor.
The family says just hours after… pic.twitter.com/pNWcA6VekR
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 8, 2025
Security personnel also made mistakes, he said.
“The first domino that fell is that they physically restrained him with five people physically on top of him and committed, or which resulted in … mechanical asphyxiation, which is what George Floyd suffered. It’s the same kind of concept that George Floyd suffered, except in this case, it persisted for three minutes, and there were other factors at play that causes death,” he said.
Haynes said Virgil was lured by advertising into accepting drinks.
“They say that it’s a good deal. So any person who’s going to go on a cruise ship is going to want to get their money’s worth, right?” he said. “They don’t let your glass get half full at Royal Caribbean. And he was not pouring the drinks.”
“The bottom line is that they need to pay for what they did to this family, and they need to take accountability. The only way to do that is through a lawsuit. They’re never gonna self-correct on this,” Haynes said.
Royal Caribbean offered a statement in reply.
“We were saddened by the passing of one of our guests, worked with authorities on their investigation, and will refrain from commenting any further on pending litigation,” a representative said, according to Fox News.
According to the lawsuit, “When DECEDENT became intoxicated and agitated, ROYAL CARIBBEAN crew members, including but not limited to security personnel, tackled DECEDENT to the ground, stood on DECEDENT’S body with their full body weight, and compressed DECEDENT’S body, causing DECEDENT to stop moving.
“ROYAL CARIBBEAN crew members, at the request of the Staff Captain, administered an injection of sedative medication Haloperidol to DECEDENT and used multiple cans of pepper spray on DECEDENT. DECEDENT ultimately died in the care of ROYAL CARIBBEAN staff and crew members,” the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and a jury trial, said.
“DECEDENT’S death was ruled a ‘HOMICIDE’ as the use of force by ROYAL CARIBBEAN crew members, as well as overservice of alcoholic beverages leading to intoxication, directly contributed to and caused the physiologic conditions leading to DECEDENT’S death,” the lawsuit said.
“DECEDENT’S death was directly and proximately caused by ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S negligence,” the lawsuit said.
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