The Kentucky doctor bloodied and yanked from a United Airlines flight, whose lawyer on Thursday said a suit was probably on the way, could walk away w
The Kentucky doctor bloodied and yanked from a United Airlines flight, whose lawyer on Thursday said a suit was probably on the way, could walk away with millions, attorneys say.
David Dao, 69, suffered a broken nose, sinus injury, significant concussion and two missing front teeth after Chicago aviation officers dragged him past alarmed passengers in the Sunday episode that spawned national outrage, according to his lawyer Thomas Demetrio.
Dao’s potential damages are hard to evaluate at such an early stage, said Manhattan-based personal injury attorney Benedict Morelli but he speculated they could start around $100,000 and ratchet up in a worst-case medical scenario.
“Let’s assume that he had a concussion and maybe had a traumatic brain injury, and he needs surgery to correct it,” Morelli said. “And (if) the surgery doesn’t go well, God, that could be millions.”
The true crux of the case, he argued, is the humiliation Dao experienced in unsettling video footage that went viral. The humiliation and the horrifying effect of what happened here is, in my opinion, at least as important an item of damage as the physical injuries,” Morelli said. “I would even view it as more important.”
Dao has filed a suit against United and the city of Chicago in Cook County Circuit Court, according to online records. But where the case ultimately gets heard; in state or federal court, can have an effect, said Morelli.
Aviation attorney Dan Rose, meanwhile, said the case’s outcome will ultimately be a business decision largely driven by United.
“They want this to go away; they don’t want this to be lingering in the media for the next two years,” Rose said. “I would not be surprised if the case was resolved in the $5 to $10 million range in short order. It could be more; it could be less, it’s not a science.”
Oscar Munoz, Chairman, United Airline
Rose added that Demetrio had elevated (the case) to the level of a cause célèbre to really put the entire airline industry on trial and is likely trying to interject punitive damages into the mix.
“In a civil lawsuit like this, you get compensated for physical, emotional and economic injuries,” he said. “But if the conduct is egregious enough, you may be able to get punitive damages, which are intended to punish.”
The Supreme Court’s general guideline says that punitive damages can’t total more than 10 times the amount awarded in compensatory damages, Rose explained.
