Story highlights During the storm, conditions were so bad one passenger was flung 18 feet in the air against his cabin door, suit claims

The lawsuit claims that Royal Caribbean acted with negligence and put its passengers and crew in grave danger

(CNN) The first lawsuit was filed against Royal Caribbean over the decision to sail the Anthem of the Seas cruise ship despite a predicted winter storm earlier this month, according to court documents provided to CNN.

Passenger Bruce Simpson says that once the storm worsened, the ship began to rock and tilt violently; while in his cabin, Simpson was flung nearly 18 feet against his cabin door and knocked unconscious, he alleges.

Simpson describes the chaos onboard as he sought medical treatment, saying there were insufficient emergency services available for passengers. After coming to, he was told to wait in his room until the storm calmed before seeking further medical attention, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Miami, alleges that despite knowledge of a well-forecast storm, Royal Caribbean acted in negligence when it let the Anthem of the Seas sail off the East Coast with 6,000 passengers and 1,500 crew members. Simpson asks for compensatory and punitive damages.

"They took a calculated risk when they sent their passengers into the storm, and we don't think the passengers should be the ones that pay for Royal Caribbean's lack of judgment," attorney Jason Itkin said in a written statement.

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