Summary A passenger fractured her ankle on a JetBlue flight after her foot got tangled in a seatbelt. The crew failed to provide assistance onboard or after landing; the wheelchair provided was broken. Apart from the fracture, the passenger suffered deep vein thrombosis and back injury, thus filing a $170k lawsuit against JetBlue for damages.
A passenger onboard a JetBlue flight had an incident onboard which resulted in their ankle getting fractured due to their feet getting tangled in a seatbelt. The passenger has reportedly filed a suit against the airline for lack of helpful support or assistance, both onboard the aircraft or on the ground after landing. The incident The incident occurred on July 23rd onboard JetBlue flight B6121, from New York JFK Airport (JFK) to Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS), when the 59-year-old passenger suffered this injury.
As reported by FOX Business , the incident occurred when the passenger was getting out of her seat when her foot, unfortunately, got tangled in a hanging seatbelt, which resulted in her falling backward, during which time her foot twisted and fractured. While her husband assisted her back to the seat along with a nurse who happened to be onboard the aircraft, the crew failed to provide any medical assistance, such as access to a first aid kit or ice packs. The following is an extract from the court filing: Plaintiffs asked members of the flight crew for a first aid kit and ice, but they were told by crewmembers that everything was packed up and inaccessible for the remainder of the flight.
Who provides medical assistance in flight? Furthermore, the court filing also indicates that after landing, the passenger and her husband were asked to wait until everyone had disembarked before they could leave the aircraft. While a wheelchair was provided for the injured passenger, the court filing indicates that the wheelchair was broken, which meant the passenger did not have proper support for her ankle and could not elevate it. The trouble continues Details of the court filing further state that, upon disembarking the aircraft, airline staff discouraged the passenger from calling an ambulance and seeking medical assistance in the Bahamas and recommended that she fly back to New York for medical evaluation.
This forced the couple to purchase new tickets to fly back to JFK to get some medical evaluation. Reportedly, the couple still failed to receive any assistance, such as first-aid kits or ice packs, from the airline staff at the airport. These airlines are dedicated to ensuring accessibility and comfort for passengers using wheelchairs.
The injured passenger was forced to remain in the broken wheelchair during this whole time and navigate the airport and immigration to board their JetBlue flight back to New York. As per the court filing, yet again, the crew onboard the flight back to JFK failed to provide any assistance. Plaintiffs were again denied assistance by JETBLUE staff when they were told that to open the first aid kit onboard their return flight, an incident report would need to be filled out and since their accident did not occur on the current flight, a report would not be filled out to provide access to the first aid kit on board.
More than just a fracture Upon returning to New York, the passenger was taken to the emergency room, where it was evaluated that apart from a fracture on the right ankle, the passenger also suffered deep vein thrombosis to her right leg, and the fall onboard her flight to NAS also aggravated a previous back injury. The passenger filed a case against the airline earlier this month, on August 1st, and is seeking $170,000 in damages related to this incident. Extract from the filing: "Under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention, the Carrier shall be liable for damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.
".
