A cruise company, Celebrity Cruises, is facing a lawsuit from a family after a man died on one of their ships and his body was allegedly placed in a drinks cooler. The deceased man, Robert Lewis Jones, was from Florida, and his family is seeking legal action by suing the company for one million dollars. The unfortunate incident occurred when Robert passed away aboard the Celebrity Equinox in August while they were sailing in the middle of the ocean.
After Robert’s death, his body was reportedly stored in a walk-in cooler on the ship, which is typically used to keep beverages cold. The body remained in the cooler for six days until the ship reached its destination in Lauderdale. It was only then that Robert’s wife discovered where his body had been placed. The family’s lawsuit argues that the cruise ship authorities should have placed the body in the ship’s morgue for proper care instead of using a cooler.
Unfortunately, storing the body in the cooler led to significant decomposition. According to the lawsuit, the body was initially placed in the morgue but was later transferred to the cooler. The suit also claims that the cruise ship provided two options to Robert’s widow when the ship docked in Puerto Rico: either take the body off in Puerto Rico or keep it in the morgue until they returned to Ft. Lauderdale. Allegedly, the cruise ship advised her to keep the body onboard, and she agreed. However, upon docking in Ft. Lauderdale, a Sheriff’s deputy boarded the ship and discovered the body was not in the morgue. Funeral service workers eventually found the body in a blood-splattered bag on the floor of the cooler.
The tragic incident has sparked various reactions from online commenters. Many expressed their heartbreak over the disrespectful treatment of the deceased’s body, while others questioned why the family didn’t disembark at the first port of call after Robert’s death. Some commenters were shocked by the possibility of a dead body being stored in the same cooler where drinks were kept, while others defended the cruise company’s decision, questioning where else the body could have been placed.
What do you think about this incident? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
