Family of Explorer Known as 'Mr. Titanic' Files $50M Wrongful Death Lawsuit After 'Titan' Tragedy

Mar. 15, 2025

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of five people who were killed when the ‘Titan’ submersible imploded in June 2023.Photo:JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images

JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images

The family ofPaul-Henri Nargeolet, also known as “Mr. Titanic,” has filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against OceanGate and others more than a year after the"Titan" submersible implosionkilled five people, including the famed underwater explorer.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington State’s King County on Tuesday, Aug. 6, accuses OceanGate and the other entities of “gross negligence” in connection with the fatal incident, which occurred on June 18, 2023, according to anews releasefrom lawyers representing the estate.

The explorer was one of five people onboard the submersible when it imploded less than two hours into their journey to visit theTitanicwreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Nargeolet family “alleges atroubled historyof the doomed submersible” and claim OceanGate and its founderStockton Rush, who was among those killed in the implosion, “failed to disclose” key facts about the condition and durability of the submersible.

These facts were allegedly kept from the explorer, who “had made many trips to visit the wreck of theTitanicon other submersibles” prior to his death.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the famed explorer who died when the “Titan” submersible imploded in June 2023.JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images

The lawsuit alleges “someone as experienced and knowledgeable…would not have participated” in the dive had they known about the supposed problems with the watercraft, according to a statement from Matt Shaffer, an attorney representing the Nargeolet family.

Tony Buzbee, another attorney representing the Nargeolet family, also noted that the University of Washington and Boeing “recently disclaimed any involvement at all in the submersible model that imploded” despite having “key roles in the design of previous but similar versions of theTitan.”

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“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,” Buzbee said in his statement.

In addition to the explorer and Rush, three other individuals wereonboard the “Titan"when it imploded: billionairesHamish HardingandShahzada Dawood, and Dawood’s andson Suleman.

Xinhua/Shutterstock

Rush was reportedly not pleased. Employees who attended an emergency meeting afterward said Rush used the gathering to shoot down Lochridge’s report.

At the time, he told PEOPLE that for years he had “been advising people under no circumstances go to Titanic on that submersible.”

“I didn’t consider it safe because of the way it was constructed and the fact that it had not been tested or certified,” he added.

A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment on the lawsuit, per theAssociated Press.

OceanGate, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, has since suspended “all exploration and commercial operations,” according to its now-defunctwebsite.

Aninvestigation into the tragedyis still underway.

source: people.com