The estate of Frenchman Paul-Henri Narjolet on Tuesday filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Ocean Gate, the manufacturer of the Titan submersible that exploded last year.
The lawsuit was filed in King County, Washington against an underwater exploration company that was scheduled to take five people to the underwater Titanic wreck site in June 2023.
All five, including Narjolet, died when the submersible imploded after several days of desperate searching to find it before communication was lost and oxygen ran out.
The lawsuit alleges the sub has “serious problems” and a “troubling history.”
After the international search and rescue mission ended, reports emerged that OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, who was also killed during the mission, may have cut corners in the construction of the submarine, calling into question the legitimacy of OceanGate.
“I think it’s telling that both the University of Washington and Boeing recently denied having any involvement with the submersible model that exploded, even though they both played key roles in the earlier, similar Titan design,” said Tony Buzbee, an attorney in the lawsuit. He said in a statement.
Buzbee said he hopes the lawsuit will help the family answer questions about what happened and who was involved.
Narjollet, known as “Mr. Titanic,” has made 37 dives to the Titanic disaster site, more than any other diver in the world. He was considered one of the people most knowledgeable about the disaster and was a designated employee of Ocean Gate, the Associated Press reported.
The lawyers argue that Rush failed to disclose important facts about the condition of the submersible, which imploded less than two hours after it was submerged.
As The Associated Press reported last year, former Titan passengers said they knew the implosion would eventually occur because of all the technical glitches the submarine had experienced, and called Rush a “harbinger of overconfidence.”
Ocean Gate suspended all operations following the explosion last July.
A spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, according to the Associated Press.
