Wrongful death lawsuit filed over Titan submersible implosion

The estate of a Titanic researcher who was among the five people killed when the Titan submersible catastrophically imploded while on a deep-dive voyage to the site of the famous shipwreck last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $50 million in damages.

The lawsuit, filed by the estate of French explorer Paul Henri Nargeolet, accused OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who also died in the implosion, and others of gross negligence by designing, building and operating Titan "in almost every way, in a manner outside the norms of the diving community and industry, driven by Rush's apparent obsession with being remembered for innovation alongside such luminaries as Steve Jobs and Elon Musk" and to cultivate an image as a "maverick genius" of the deep-sea diving world.

The lawsuit also alleged crew members aboard the doomed vessel knew they would die before the June 2023 implosion and experienced "terror and mental anguish," claiming that an acoustic safety system installed in Titan would have detected cracking and then warned the pilot to begin an ascent.

"While the exact cause of failure may never be determined, experts agree that the Titan's crew would have realized exactly what was happening," the lawsuit stated. "Rush's vaunted 'acoustic safety system' would have alerted the crew that the carbon-fiber hull was cracking under extreme pressure -- prompting the pilot to release weight and attempt to abort. Common sense dictates that the crew were well aware they were going to die, before dying."

However, Marine Board of Investigation chair Capt. Jason Neubauer told The New York Times in June that the investigation has found "no evidence" the passengers were aware of their fate.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Washington state, where OceanGate is based. The submersible company suspended all exploration and commercial operations after the deadly implosion.

An OceanGate spokesperson had no comment.

Nargeolet's estate relied in part on public reporting about the questions experts raised concerning Titan's safety prior to its fateful final dive, including warnings the vessel was not built to hold up over time to the challenges of deep-sea expeditions.

"Decedent Nargeolet knew that the Titan was different from other submersibles in that it was constructed from carbon fiber and used other unusual materials and components. However, Nargeolet was not an engineer, a submersible designer, or a physicist" and, the lawsuit claimed, appeared to have the "false impression about the safety and seaworthiness of the vessel" based on Rush's word.

"Nargeolet may have died doing what he loved to do, but his death -- and the deaths of the other Titan crew members -- was wrongful," the lawsuit stated.

Nargeolet, known as "Mr. Titanic," was the director of underwater research at RMS Titanic, which owns the salvage rights. The adventurer had participated in 37 dives to the wreckage of the Titanic, including the first expedition in 1987 shortly after the ship's location was discovered.

In addition to Nargeolet and Rush, those killed on the vessel included British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.

The attorneys representing Nargeolet's estate said this was the first lawsuit filed in connection with the Titan implosion.

"We are hopeful that through this lawsuit we can get answers for the family as to exactly how this happened, who all were involved, and how those involved could allow this to happen," Tony Buzbee, one of the attorneys in the case, said in a statement.

The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to conduct a formal hearing starting Sept. 16 in South Carolina for the Marine Board of Investigation to consider evidence related to the loss of the Titan.

In June, the Coast Guard said the investigation into the implosion was taking longer than anticipated, calling it a "complex and ongoing effort."