Family Of Titanic Sub Victim Want $50 Million For One-Way Trip To The Deep

Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe (Getty Images)

The family of Paul-Henri Nargeolet filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OceanGate for gross negligence. Nargeolet, a French explorer, was often referred to as “Mr. Titanic” for visiting the infamous sunken ocean liner over 35 times and his expertise with the ship. He was one of the five people killed when the OceanGate submersible Titan catastrophically imploded last year.

Nargeolet was in a unique position compared to the other three passengers because of his experience journeying down 12,500 feet to the Titanic wreck. The Buzbee Law Firm, his estate’s attorneys, claims that the Frenchman wouldn’t have taken part if OceanGate had been more transparent about the state of its operation, according to U.S. News and World Report. The firm said in a statement:

“The lawsuit further alleges that even though Nargeolet had been designated by OceanGate to be a member of the crew of the vessel, many of the particulars about the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed and were purposely concealed.”

While many with the small world of deep ocean exploration always had apprehension about Titan’s design, those flaws were thrust into the spotlight after the disaster. The sub’s carbon fiber composite was destined to fail in the ocean’s depths. The Titan’s prototype predecessor got lost in the waters off of Seattle and had to navigate via iPhone. Not to forget, the whole thing was piloted with a third-party video game controller.