HOUSTON , Aug. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The Estate of French explorer
Paul Henri-Nargeolet filed a wrongful death lawsuit on
August 6, 2024 against OceanGate,
Inc., and other individuals and entities, bringing claims for gross
negligence and strict products liability, among others. The case,
which seeks more than $50 million in
damages, was filed in King County,
in Seattle, Washington. OceanGate,
Inc. is the Washington-based
company that owned and operated the Titan submersible, which while
attempting to visit the wreck of the Titanic on June 18, 2023, imploded less than two hours after
submersing, killing all five aboard. The case brought by the
Nargeolet family alleges a troubled history of the
doomed submersible, making claims that, although the deceased
was an experienced adventurer and explorer, and had made many trips
to visit the wreck of the Titanic on other submersibles, there were
key facts that OceanGate and its founder, Stockton Rush failed to
disclose about the condition and durability of the Titan
submersible, its composition, its components and the previous
similar models. 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.
Tony Buzbee, one of the
attorneys bringing the case, stated: "The lawsuit
alleges serious issues with the Titan submersible. I
think it is telling that even though the University of Washington and Boeing had key roles
in the design of previous but similar versions of the Titan, both
have recently disclaimed any involvement at all in the submersible
model that imploded. 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."
Matt Shaffer, another
attorney representing the Nargeolet family, remarked: "We have
alleged in the lawsuit that had Stockton Rush
(OceanGate's CEO and founder) been transparent about all the
troubles that had been experienced with the Titan, as well as the
previous, similar models, someone as experienced and knowledgeable
as Paul Henri-Nargeolet would not have participated. The filing
asserts that Stockton Rush simply wasn't forthcoming with the crew
and passengers about the dangers he and others knew about but the
passengers and crew did not."
---The case is Cause No. 24-2-17739-6: The Estate of Paul
Henri-Nargeolet versus OceanGate, Inc., The Estate of R.S
Rush III, Tony Nissen,
Electroimpact, Inc., Janicki Industries, Inc. and Hydrospace Group,
Inc.
---Attorney Tony Buzbee is
with The Buzbee Law Firm, headquartered in Houston, Texas and can be found on the web at
www.txattorneys.com. Inquiries: tbuzbee@txattorneys.com;
713-223-5393
---Attorney Matt Shaffer
is with Schecter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., headquartered in
Houston, Texas, and can be found
on the web at www.smslegal.com. Inquiries:
mshaffer@smslegal.com; 713-724-7142
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