23 April 2023 , 15:11
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A dead cruise passenger's body was forced to decay after being "left in the drinks cooler for days", it is claimed.
Robert L. Jones, 79, from Florida, US, was onboard the 1,041-foot-long Celebrity Equinox ship with his wife Marylin, 78, when he died from heart complications on August 15.
Celebrity Cruises, who are required to have a working morgue, gave Mrs Jones the option of taking the body off the ship when it docked at their next stop in Puerto Rico, or be placed in the ship’s morgue until it returned to Fort Lauderdale six days later.
She claims she was "encouraged" to keep her husband's remains on the ship until they returned to Fort Lauderdale, according to the lawsuit.
Mrs Jones gave permission for her husband to be kept in the morgue until they returned as she would have had to flown the body back from Puerto Rico to Florida.
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The family is suing the cruise company (PA)However, before the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale, Mr Jones' body was moved from the morgue to the drinks cooler on a separate floor, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit said: "The cooler in which Mr. Jones’ body was found by the funeral employee had drinks placed outside of the cooler, and was not at a temperature which was sufficient nor proper for storing a dead body to prevent decomposition."
The Broward County deputy sheriff and a local funeral home went to collect the body on August 21 ahead of Mr Jones' funeral.
But when they turned up Mr Jones' body was found with an intubation tube still left in his throat.
His body had also decomposed inside a body bag in the drink cooler that was not at an “appropriate” temperature, according to the complaint.
If Mr Jones' body was placed in the ships morgue it could have gone months without decomposing, his family claim.
His body was found with an intubation tube still left in his throat (Facebook)His devastated loved ones has slammed the company for the way they handled Mr Jones' death.
The lawsuit said: "The company's actions and inactions with regard to Mr. Jones’s body were extremely indifferent to his passing, his dignity, and his family, friends, and community’s loss, and showed an entire want of care for the safety of his remains.
"As a passenger on its ship, the defendant owed Robert Jones a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances."
Mr Jones' body was moved from the morgue to the drinks cooler on a separate floor (Facebook)Mr Jones' family said they were unable to get closure due not being able to have a open casket funeral.
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The complaint said it's a “practice which was a part of his family’s culture.”
Mrs Jones, her daughters, and her grandchildren are suing the company for $1 million.
Celebrity Cruises has been approached for comment.