The household of a French explorer who died in a submersible implosion have filed a wrongful demise lawsuit searching for greater than $50 million that accuses the sub’s operator of gross negligence.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was amongst 5 individuals who died when the Titan submersible imploded throughout a voyage to the famed Titanic wreck website within the North Atlantic in June 2023. Nobody survived the journey aboard the experimental submersible owned by OceanGate, an organization in Washington state that has since suspended operations.

Often known as “Mr. Titanic,” Nargeolet had visited the Titanic website many instances earlier than and was considered one of many world’s most educated folks in regards to the well-known wreck. Attorneys for his property mentioned in an emailed assertion that the “doomed submersible” had a “troubled historical past,” and that OceanGate didn’t disclose key details in regards to the vessel and its sturdiness.

“The lawsuit additional alleges that despite the fact that Nargeolet had been designated by OceanGate to be a member of the crew of the vessel, lots of the particulars in regards to the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings weren’t disclosed and had been purposely hid,” the attorneys, the Buzbee Legislation Agency of Houston, Texas, mentioned of their assertion.

A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to touch upon the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in King County, Washington.

Tony Buzbee, one of many attorneys on the case, mentioned one of many targets of the lawsuit is to “get solutions for the household as to precisely how this occurred, who all had been concerned, and the way these concerned might permit this to occur.”

Issues had been raised within the aftermath of the catastrophe about whether or not the Titan was doomed on account of its unconventional design and its creator’s refusal to undergo unbiased checks which can be commonplace within the trade. Its implosion additionally raised questions in regards to the viability and future of personal deep-sea exploration.

The U.S. Coast Guard shortly convened a high-level investigation, which continues to be ongoing. A key public listening to that’s a part of the investigation is scheduled to happen in September.

The Titan made its final dive on June 18, 2023, a Sunday morning, and misplaced contact with its assist vessel about two hours later. After a search and rescue mission that drew consideration around the globe, the wreckage of the Titan was discovered on the ocean ground about 984 ft (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic, about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

OceanGate CEO and cofounder Stockton Rush was working the Titan when it imploded. Along with Rush and Nargeolet, the implosion killed British adventurer Hamish Harding and two members of a outstanding Pakistani household, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.

The corporate that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is within the midst of its first voyage to the wreckage website in years. Final month, RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based agency, launched its first expedition to the positioning since 2010 from Windfall, Rhode Island.

Nargeolet was director of underwater analysis for RMS Titanic. His property’s attorneys described him as a seasoned veteran of underwater exploration who wouldn’t have participated within the Titan expedition if the corporate had been extra clear.