Lawsuit Filed by Family of Man Who Died After Contracting Coronavirus Aboard a Cruise Ship

The family of a man who died from coronavirus, which he contracted aboard a cruise ship, is suing the cruise line for his death. USAToday.com reports that 64-year-old Ronald Wong and his wife Eva sailed aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship out of San Francisco on February 21. According to the complaint, both Ronald and Eva contracted coronavirus while sailing aboard the ship. Ronald died as a result of complications from the illness while Eva recovered.

The Wongs filed the suit against Princess Cruise line and it’s parent company, Carnival Cruise Lines, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The suit alleges that Princess should have known that a passenger from the voyage prior to the Wong’s voyage had tested positive for coronavirus, putting subsequent passengers at risk.

The USAToday article identifies the previous sick passenger as a 71-year-old man who had sailed aboard the Grand Princess in February, and who later died from coronavirus on March 4.

Approximately 62 passengers from that previous voyage, and 1,000 crewmembers, stayed aboard the ship for the subsequent voyage on which the Wongs also sailed.

On March 7 Grant Tarling, Carnival’s chief medical officer, announced that the earlier passenger may have exposed subsequent passengers to the virus.