United passenger launches legal action over forceful removal

[webfact]

United passenger launches legal action over forceful removal

By Alana Wise

REUTERS

 

A video screengrab shows passenger David Dao being dragged off a United Airlines flight at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in this video filmed by @JayseDavid April 9, 2017. Jayse D. Anspach via REUTERS

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for the passenger dragged from a United Airlines <UAL.N> plane in Chicago filed an emergency request with an Illinois state court on Wednesday to require the carrier to preserve video recordings and other evidence related to the incident.

 

Citing the risk of "serious prejudice" to their client, Dr. David Dao, the lawyers want United and the City of Chicago, which runs O'Hare International Airport, to preserve surveillance videos, cockpit voice recordings, passenger and crew lists, and other materials related to United Flight 3411. Chicago's Aviation Department said on Wednesday that two more officers had been placed on leave in connection with the April 9 incident, during which airport security officers dragged Dao from his seat aboard a United jet headed for Louisville, Kentucky. One officer was placed on leave on Tuesday.

 

Paul Callan, a civil and criminal trial lawyer in New York, said the public outcry over Dao's treatment would likely push the airline to a quick and generous settlement.

 

"Because United has such a catastrophic PR problem, this case has a much greater value than such a case would normally have," he said.

 

United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz on Wednesday apologised to Dao, his family and United customers in an ABC News interview, saying the company would no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights.

"This can never, will never happen again," he said.

 

Munoz is under pressure to contain a torrent of bad publicity and calls for boycotts against United unleashed by videos that captured Dao's rough treatment by airline and airport security staff.

 

Dao was removed to make room for additional crew members, United said.

 

Footage from the incident shows Dao, bloodied and dishevelled, returning to the cabin and repeating: "Just kill me. Kill me," and "I have to go home."

 

As of Tuesday, Dao was still in a Chicago hospital recovering from his injuries, his lawyer said.

 

On Wednesday, United said it would compensate all passengers on board the flight the cost of their tickets.

 

Munoz said United would be examining the way it compensates customers who volunteer to give up seats on overbooked planes, adding that it would likely not demand that seated passengers surrender their places.

 

Some U.S. lawmakers called for new rules that could make it more difficult for airlines to overbook flights as a tool for increasing revenue.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said it was "horrible" that Dao was dragged off the flight, according to an interview from the Wall Street Journal. Rather than calling for an end to the practice of overselling, Trump said that instead, there should be no upper limit to incentives carriers can offer passengers in exchange for their seats on overbooked flights.

 

Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate committee that oversees transportation have questioned United's actions.

 

But Delta Air Lines Inc <DAL.N> CEO Ed Bastian on Wednesday defended overbooking as "a valid business practice" that does not require additional oversight by the government.

 

"It's not a question, in my opinion, as to whether you overbook," Bastian said on a call with analysts. "It's how you manage an overbook situation."

 

The backlash from the incident resonated around the world, with social media users in the United States, China and Vietnam calling for boycotts of the No. 3 U.S. carrier by passenger traffic and an end to the practice of overbooking flights.

 

Shares of United Continental closed 1.1 percent lower at $69.93. They fell as much as 4.4 percent on Tuesday.

 

Two online petitions calling for Munoz to step down as CEO had more than 124,000 signatures combined by Wednesday afternoon. Munoz told ABC he had no plans to resign over the incident.

 

(Reporting by Alana Wise in New York; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Richard Chang)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-13

 

[ezzra]

 

There's a guy who was probably thinking to him self how he is going to get rich out of this while being dragged out of the plane, and it did happened in the best place

on earth to get compensations, the  litigious center of the world,

the  US of A.....

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Good luck to him. I hope he makes a lot of money and Munoz gets the royal boot.

[mesquite]

Looks like United Airlines bullied the wrong guy.

Edited April 12, 2017 by mesquite

[BEVUP]

All airlines are quite pathetic

Watched a show once & saw a couple rejected from one of the new 380's because they didnt check in online 

I did all that once but still got on the plane but instead of an isle seat got a window seat so i certainly showed my fustration as to why the need to change seat if i could get on the flight

Let alone non of them dropped the fares when the oil went down , no wander Quantas made a profit not that i would fly with them again as you need to wait more then 30 min on a phone to change ticket

I would be sueing the crap out of them as they didnt really need to put the workers on their own plane (Many fly in fly out jobs use any airline & the companies dont care how much it cost )

[Berkshire]

24 minutes ago, ezzra said:

 

There's a guy who was probably thinking to him self how he is going to get rich out of this while being dragged out of the plane, and it did happened in the best place

on earth to get compensations, the  litigious center of the world,

the  US of A.....

 

You think the guy planned this from the beginning?  Lordy.  A few holes in that theory, not the least of which is that there's no way the guy could have known how much press was going to ensue. 

 

What's more likely is the lawyers came to him.  And lots of them.  Heck, if I was a lawyer, I'd certainly track him down and promise him millions if he'd let me represent him.  The whole event already went viral in a big way.  Easy money.

[stevenl]

It seems overbooking is much more prevalent in the USA than it is elsewhere. If correct, how come?

sent using Tapatalk

[Langsuan Man]

32 minutes ago, stevenl said:

It seems overbooking is much more prevalent in the USA than it is elsewhere. If correct, how come?

sent using Tapatalk
 

Minimal consumer protection laws, especially since US airlines are free to establish their own conditions of carriage 

 

 

[just.a.thought]

Most airlines,from ground staff/services to cabin crew has nowadays no concept of proper customer service it's just "cattle transport"


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[petesc55]

OVERBOOKING wasn't the issue.   The flight crew who showed up at the last minute and needed seats weren't 'booked'.   The plane probably was overbooked, but it didn't effect what happened here.  

 

Please remind me if I get into a situation like this not to shriek like a 9 year old girl when the cops are dragging me off the plane, though.

 

[Thechook]

Take them to the cleaners and I hope you send them bankrupt.  What a filthy disgusting airline it is.

[dick dasterdly]

Quote - "Lawyers for the passenger dragged from a United Airlines <UAL.N> plane in Chicago filed an emergency request with an Illinois state court on Wednesday to require the carrier to preserve video recordings and other evidence related to the incident.

 

Citing the risk of "serious prejudice" to their client, Dr. David Dao, the lawyers want United and the City of Chicago, which runs O'Hare International Airport, to preserve surveillance videos, cockpit voice recordings, passenger and crew lists, and other materials related to United Flight 3411."  End of quote.

 

 

Good move by the lawyers as I've no doubt that those issuing the instructions leading to this fiasco would prefer the evidence against them be deleted as quickly as possible!

Edited April 13, 2017 by dick dasterdly

[simon43]

Please remind me if I get into a situation like this not to shriek like a 9 year old girl when the cops are dragging me off the plane, though.

 

OTOH, if you can stand your own embarrassment, then shriek like a 9 year old girl and scream out 'Oh God, stop torturing me - the agony of my recently-injured hip/leg/arm etc etc'.  It might fetch you a few more million $ in damages.

[vogie]

 

[dick dasterdly]

4 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

OTOH, if you can stand your own embarrassment, then shriek like a 9 year old girl and scream out 'Oh God, stop torturing me - the agony of my recently-injured hip/leg/arm etc etc'.  It might fetch you a few more million $ in damages.

You think the victim behaved this way because he was thinking about a future court case?!

 

I disagree entirely.  We all react differently to fear/injury/stress etc.

[simon43]

You think the victim behaved this way because he was thinking about a future court case?!

 

Sigh.... do I really have to switch on the <sarcasm> tag?

[dick dasterdly]

27 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

OTOH, if you can stand your own embarrassment, then shriek like a 9 year old girl and scream out 'Oh God, stop torturing me - the agony of my recently-injured hip/leg/arm etc etc'.  It might fetch you a few more million $ in damages.

 

Just now, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Sigh.... do I really have to switch on the <sarcasm> tag?

There is nothing in the first post that gives the slightest clue it was meant sarcastically!

 

Rather the opposite as we all know that litigation 'culture' is misused badly too often.

[simon43]

LoL, the first of many YT clips, no doubt.

 

Hitler gets dragged off plane

[simon43]

There is nothing in the first post that gives the slightest clue it was meant sarcastically!

 

I'm very sorry.

 

Are you American by any chance?

[dick dasterdly]

Just now, simon43 said:

LoL, the first of many YT clips, no doubt.

 

Hitler gets dragged off plane

That video doesn't help your protestations that you were being 'sarcastic' with your earlier post....

Edited April 13, 2017 by dick dasterdly

[dick dasterdly]

4 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

I'm very sorry.

 

Are you American by any chance?

No.  

 

I'm British, so sarcasm and irony are easily understood if given a chance of realising this is intended....

[steven100]

Airlines are like bankers ....  they are scum imo ...

 

I bet everyone at United is ducking and weaving like a scared cheshire cat.

Sack the CEO and fine the airline.

Edited April 13, 2017 by steven100

[billd766]

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

There's a guy who was probably thinking to him self how he is going to get rich out of this while being dragged out of the plane, and it did happened in the best place

on earth to get compensations, the  litigious center of the world,

the  US of A.....

 

 

Do you really believe that?

 

Why not start off with who overbooked the aircraft, whose decision was it to bump 4 passengers after they had boarded, who called in security and who caused the whole mess in the first place.

 

Why do you believe that he thought that he would get rich out of the incident?

 

If United had not screwed up in the first place then there would have been no incident.

 

Vouchers were offered but nobody wanted them.

 

Today it appears that United are refunding the fares of ALL the passengers on that flight. Is that the action of an innocent party?

 

How much has this incident cost United so far through the total arrogance and stupidity of a few local managers and especially the flight crew?

 

If United cannot manage a simple matter of prepositioning a flight crew of only 4 people then are certainly not an airline that I would ever consider flying with.

 

I hope that Dr Dao's lawyers sue the azz of United and force the CEO to resign with NO compensation.

[Thaidream]

The United incident is a perfect example of what never to do . Dragging a passenger off an airline who has not committed any crime is a total PR disaster. then the Airline CEO tries to convince the public the customer was disorderly and out of control but the video clips show it was the airline and its security who were the ones out of control.    

 

Passengers who saw the incident were so shocked that they left the plane as did a teacher with his students who were emotionally affected.

 

The airline will settle the lawsuit quickly and pay out big money. The CEO should be fired. This man receives millions in salary and his airline staff are ill trained and following a flawed customer policy for which the CEO is responsible. Since when is it a reasonable policy to allow airline employees to come late for a flight and expect seats and then the company attempts to solve the issue by pulling  customers off a full plane. I can't think of worst customer service.

[koo]

Oh, United again.  They really seem to not know how to handle luggage, but now it spreads to not knowing how to handle passengers as well.

 

This happened 2009:

 

3 videos were made, going viral, before United finally admitted they screwed up. What a PR mess  :-(

 

 

EDIT: Actually Dave Carroll has commented also on this new incident - he was asked to write another song, but he will probably not. However, he gives a good insight of what PR in companies should be and how it seem to be hit and miss with United.  See it here :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQz8qqioCt8

 

Edited April 13, 2017 by koo
Added new link

[Rhys]

Let's  see forceful removal has been used only when the passenger does not comply. Nothing new, check  the other videos. The police are called thus it is the onus of the passenger to comply. Somebody looking to get rich, get rich here...  

 

The man brought it on himself.  Sad outcome of course. It is going to play out in the media and public opinion, character profiling of both the police and the impaired physician will of course cloud the issues...

 

The house  always wins...

[bartender100]

He is going to end up owning United

[jchfriis]

57 minutes ago, Rhys said:

Let's  see forceful removal has been used only when the passenger does not comply. Nothing new, check  the other videos. The police are called thus it is the onus of the passenger to comply. Somebody looking to get rich, get rich here...  

 

The man brought it on himself.  Sad outcome of course. It is going to play out in the media and public opinion, character profiling of both the police and the impaired physician will of course cloud the issues...

 

The house  always wins...

 

So forceful removal of a customer who has paid for the flight and been boarded and given his/her seat is OK then? Sure overbooking is par for the course in the airline industry as in the hotel industry where I used to work. But it is how you handle it that matters.  If you screw up and cannot fulfil your obligation as the service provider, in this case United Airlines, you better take your medicine and make sure that the customer is happy or not too angry with you as the case may be. I don't see how it is good business practice to haul a passenger off the plane or throw a guest out of a room because you need it for someone you deem more important. It shows a total lack of understanding of what business they are in: the service industry.

Edited April 13, 2017 by jchfriis

[steve187]

i bet the flight was overbooked, not counting the last minute staff, flights are always overbooked if the demand is there. i have just been looking at some flights for a big airline and some flights are 10+ overbooked, they rely on no shows.

Here is an example - 

flight                             depart                 arrive               Bus                  ECON            Total              staff on standby

KL891

AMS

CTU

6

-16

-10

0

[funandsuninbangkok]

The guy is a convicted felon looking for a payout.  United will give him his $5000, learn from it and move on.  This guy will still be swimming in the I-sue-you swamp of retail America. 

 

Suppose it was a restaurant?  Owner tells a customer, sorry we need this table, you got to go. You got to go. Same same. 

 

The creap should try American Airlines. Believe it or not, much worst.