The Family of Chung Chen, a passenger on board the Ruby Princess. Chang Chen with his wife Juishan Hsu, and 21-year-old daughter Vivian Chen, all contracted the coronavirus. Chang Chen died on April 4.

The families of passengers on board two cruise ships who died of COVID-19 have filed the first wrongful death lawsuits against Princess Cruise Lines.

In separate lawsuits filed on Wednesday, the wife of Michael Dorety, a resident of Crowley, Texas, who was on board the Grand Princess, and the wife and daughter of Chang Chen, a 64-year-old resident of Los Angeles and passenger of the Ruby Princess, alleged that Princess Cruise Lines' gross negligence caused their deaths from COVID-19.

Gerald Singleton, of Singleton Law Firm in Ventura, California, and Rusty Hardin, of Rusty Hardin & Associates in Houston, filed the Grand Princess case, and Debi Chalik, of Chalik & Chalik in Plantation, Florida, filed the Ruby Princess case. Both said that Princess Cruise knew about the risks that passengers could get the coronavirus, particularly given that it had a previous outbreak on the Diamond Princess, the ship docked off the coast of Japan that had 700 cases of the coronavirus. The Diamond Princess had seven COVID-19 deaths.

"The behavior of Princess Cruise Lines is all the more outrageous because just a few weeks earlier, one of their ships had a coronavirus outbreak infecting 700 people while docked in Japan," Hardin said. "This cruise line company put money ahead of its passengers' well-being, and it cost Michael Dorety his life."

The Grand Princess had four deaths from two voyages due to COVID-19, and the Ruby Princess had 19 deaths.

Attorney Debi Chalik in Florida. Debi Chalik in Florida.

"This tragic death could have been avoided if Princess Cruise chose safety over profits," said Chalik, who has filed lawsuits on behalf of 17 families of Princess Cruise voyages for medical expenses and emotional distress. "As a result, the Chen family has been devastated by the death of their beloved husband and father."

Princess Cruise, owned by Carnival Cruise Line, declined to comment about the litigation, stating only: "Princess Cruise has been sensitive to the difficulties the COVID-19 outbreak has caused to our guests and crew. Our response throughout this process has focused on the well-being of our guests and crew within the parameters dictated to us by the government agencies involved and the evolving medical understanding of this new illness."

Most of the lawsuits against Princess Cruise have involved the Grand Princess and, until Wednesday's suit, have not involved deaths from COVID-19. In Wednesday's case, Susan Dorety alleged that the couple were on the voyage, which departed on Feb. 21 from San Francisco, to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. After several days, the cruise employees removed the buffets and wore gloves, but the ship continued to hold shows and events until two weeks later, when Princess Cruise quarantined guests in their rooms.

Michael Dorety, a retired firefighter, fell ill while on board the cruise, according to the suit. His wife called the emergency number on the ship, but cruise representatives did not allow her husband to disembark for three days, only sending a doctor who gave him Tamiflu and Tylenol.

Days later, he died. The couple have two children.

"When Michael Dorety died, he was all alone," the suit says. "The doctor called Susan Dorety to tell her that her husband was dying. Susan Dorety and her children listened as the doctor counted down Michael Dorety's heartbeats until he was gone. Michael Dorety died alone."

About 600 people on board the Ruby Princess, which had 3,000 passengers, have contracted the coronavirus.

Authorities in Australia have launched an investigation into what caused the outbreak on the Ruby Princess, docked on March 18, where a viral video revealed crew members partying with passengers on the voyage's last day.

According to the suit, Princess Cruise Lines' corporate office told employees to provide food vouchers to passengers waiting to board so that they could disinfect the ship for six hours. The Ruby Princess set sail on March 8 from Sydney, Australia, and returned three days earlier than planned.

Chen and his wife, Juishan Hsu, and 21-year-old daughter, Vivian Chen, all contracted the coronavirus. Chang Chen died on April 4.

The suits are not the first wrongful death claims over COVID-19. On April 6, the family of an employee at a Walmart in Evergreen Park, Illinois, filed the first wrongful death case. Plaintiffs attorney Tony Kalogerakos, of Injury Lawyers of Illinois, claimed that Walmart did not provide enough personal protective equipment or take other precautions to protect its employees from the coronavirus.