The older I get, the less appealing drinking becomes. Even though I will be the first to admit that back in the day I could drink a sailor under the table, these days the charm has just worn off. While I will absolutely appreciate a drink or two while out or at a party, it doesn’t really go beyond that. That’s mostly because if I do overindulge, I know it can get really hairy in terms of judgment. One cocktail becomes four and then suddenly, I’m spending the next day vomiting and regretting my choices. At the same time, I can fully understand the desire to cut loose once in a while, especially as a parent.
Life gets stressful, and in the moment it can feel nice to relive those invincible days of bar crawls and drinking games. But the sad reality is that it can get out of hand quickly, and for one husband and father vacationing on a cruise, the result was deadly.
In 2024, Michael Virgil was reportedly served 33 drinks by Royal Caribbean staff while waiting for his room to be ready. He became so intoxicated that he became rageful and threatened crew and passengers, saying that he would kill them, according to the New York Post. Footage shows Virgil attempting to batter down a door in a supposed hunt for his room.
According to a wrongful death lawsuit obtained by TMZ, however, that is when things took a turn for the worse. Virgil was detained, and the lawsuit alleges he was injected with a sedative that ultimately killed him.
The lawsuit indicated that Virgil died of “significant hypoxia and impaired ventilation, respiratory failure, cardiovascular instability and ultimately cardiopulmonary arrest, leading to his death which has been ruled a homicide,” the outlet reported.
According to CNN, the lawsuit also went on to claim that the ship’s crew tackled him and stood on him using their full weight, impairing his breathing. In addition to the sedative, it stated that at the captain’s request they also sprayed him with pepper spray and the combination ultimately led to cardiac arrest.
It also noted that the crew failed to enact their maritime law requirement to “supervise and assist passengers likely to engage in behavior dangerous to themselves or others,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit ascertains that the medical personnel onboard lacked proper education and that ultimately the staff neglected its right to stop serving alcohol in order to protect his life, per CNN.
Virgil leaves behind a 7-year-old autistic son and fiancée Connie Aguilar, who is in the midst of this legal battle with Royal Caribbean.
