A man dragged from a United Airlines flight on Sunday suffered a broken nose, a “significant” concussion and lost his two front teeth in the incident, his lawyer has said.
Aviation lawyer Thomas Demetrio – whose law firm is representing Dr David Dao – added the 69-year-old has been released from hospital but will require reconstructive surgery.
Demetrio made the comments at a press conference on Thursday morning, adding he will likely file a lawsuit on Dr Dao’s behalf. He said that airlines – and United in particular – have long “bullied” passengers.
Dao was on a plane to Louisville, Kentucky from Chicago on Sunday when airline staff asked for volunteers to disembark in order to accommodate crew.
When passengers failed to volunteer, four were chosen at random, including Dao. Dao refused to leave and was dragged from the plane by airport security staff.
Read our joint statement with @GolanChristie on behalf of @united passenger Dr. David Dao https://t.co/WOzK3jsEjs
— Corboy & Demetrio (@CorboyDemetrio) April 11, 2017
One of Dao’s five children, Crystal Pepper, said the family was “horrified, shocked and sickened” to learn and see what happened.She added that the family’s feelings were exacerbated by the video taken of the incident and its wide distribution online.
Chicago’s aviation officers are not part of the regular police force, unlike in many other big cities.They get less training than regular officers and cannot carry firearms inside the airports.Three of them were put on leave amid outrage over how they treated the passenger.
United CEO Oscar Munoz: I’m sorry. We will fix this. https://t.co/v8EPGsiDCi pic.twitter.com/eOPiYcagvo
— United (@united) April 11, 2017
Following widespread criticism, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz has said the company will conduct a “thorough review” into its policies.
