The odds of dying in a plane crash are about 1 in 11 million. It’s not the flying that worries me these days. It’s the other stuff.
By now, you are probably familiar with the story of poor Dr. David Dao, who was severely injured after being dragged off a United flight, or the American Airlines passenger who was hit by the same flight attendant who nearly struck her baby.
Now comes news that in July 2015, two United employees pushed a 71-year-old Texas man to the ground near the ticket counter, and then just stood there while the man lie motionless on the ground. He has now (understandably) sued.
According to the lawsuit, the July 21, 2015 incident began when the man received a boarding pass that was illegible. After asking multiple times for a new pass and being denied, the man was told to go to the security checkpoint.
There, Transportation Security Administration officials refused to accept the ticket, sending the man back to the United counter.
The lawsuit claims that once the man reached the ticketing area, he tried again to get a new boarding pass. However, the two employees he approached allegedly refused to provide assistance. Instead, they laughed and cursed at the man, telling him they were busy, according to the complaint.
When the passenger told the employee to “wipe that smile off your face,” the worker replied with an obscenity and then “suddenly, unexpectedly, and violently injured” the man, the Washington Post reports. …
The man says he was left with “physical disfigurement” and “mental anguish” after the incident.
And now we learn off a new lawsuit against American Airlines:
According to Thursday's complaint, an unmoored, fully stocked, 300-pound beverage cart struck Charles Johnson in the head after it flew down the aisle on Flight 1941 to Charlotte, North Carolina from Hartford, Connecticut on April 28, 2016.
Johnson said the impact caused his hat to be ripped off his head and resulted in a large forehead gash, severe bleeding and a loss of consciousness.
But rather than land, the pilot flew on more than two hours to Charlotte, as a nurse and other passengers cared for Johnson because the cabin crew did not know how, the complaint said.
Johnson now suffers from "chronic traumatic brain injury and post-concussive syndrome," headaches, mood swings and anxiety. He has been unable to work or bend down and has seen his marriage become "strained" because of his injuries, the complaint said.
Reuters is reporting that “U.S. airline passenger complaints leapt 70 percent in April from a year earlier.” This is perhaps the most unsurprising fact I’ve learned today.
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