NCS
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A Florida lady and her household have filed a lawsuit in opposition to Celebrity Cruises, claiming the cruise line improperly stored her husband’s body in the ship’s cooler, versus the morgue, after he died on board.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.
According to the criticism, Robert L. Jones, died as a result of a cardiac occasion whereas on the Celebrity Equinox cruise ship in August 2022, touring from Fort Lauderdale to ports in the Eastern Caribbean.
The lawsuit states that after Jones’ loss of life, his spouse, Marilyn Jones, was informed that she had two choices for what may very well be carried out together with her husband’s body. According to the lawsuit, these choices have been to “either have Mr. Jones’ body removed from the ship in San Juan,” Puerto Rico or to “have his body stored on the ship until it reached port in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, approximately six days from the date of his passing.”
Jones’ body stayed on board the ship for “approximately six days,” in keeping with the lawsuit.
“When the funeral services employee in Ft. Lauderdale was brought onto the ship to retrieve Mr. Jones’ body, his body was not located in the ship’s morgue,” the lawsuit mentioned.
“Instead, Mr. Jones’ body had, at some time not yet known, had been moved from the ship’s morgue to a cooler on a different floor than the ship’s morgue. The cooler in which Mr. Jones’ body was found by the funeral employee had drinks placed outside of the cooler, and was not at a temperature which was sufficient nor proper for storing a dead body to prevent decomposition,” in keeping with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit additionally says the body was discovered “in a bag on a palette on the floor of the cooler” and that it “was in advanced stages of decomposition.”
Marilyn Jones and her household are asking for compensatory damages in the quantity of $1 million and are demanding a trial by jury.
NCS has reached out to Celebrity Cruises for remark.