While passengers suing airlines is pretty common, this has to be one of the most bizarre instances, as reported by PYOK.
Continue reading: Man Gets Stuck In EL AL Business Class Seat, Sues For “Mental Anguish”
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Since the gentleman is up in age, I would imagine that he would probably have sagging skin. That's probably first thing I can think of. Skin getting trapped somehow in the crevices of the seat cushion. And I wouldn't call that negligent on the passenger's part. Just an unfortunate accident.
Did the passenger file a complaint on the ground at JFK ? Seek medical attention? The seat manufacturer should be on the hook as well. Also , the cleaning , maintenance , etc may work for a 3rd party.
My take on this is that he probably could not get up after reclining the seat or bed position. He’s older & can easily be injured if lifted wrong. It happens more than one would think.
@Mike O - That’s exactly what came to mind. A few weeks ago, I took my 80 year old aunt for an MRI and her arm skin got trapped in the sliding bed roller and ripped open. Fortunately, they stitched her up in the ER and she didn’t suffer too long.
I wonder an old man could trap his legs against the ottoman if pushin flat bed by mistake... I think its not difficult to happen if poor agility
My take on this EL AL should’ve given him a big $$$ voucher and some Goodwill money to avoid a lawsuit and this article. But no, many Airlines (LY, LH) has become cheap SOBs. So they got the bad press.
Talk about perpetuating negative stereotypes. I don't think it was responsible to share this story.
I always prefer getting stuck in business class than the physical and mental anguish of couch
I’m actually surprised this doesn’t happen more often. Whenever I travel with my toddler in lie-flat seats, the abundance of potential pinch points is always a concern, and something I watch out for. It may seem trivial to most of us frequent travellers, but to people that don’t intuitively know how to operate the seat, whether because of young/old age or another reason, a complex electrically-operated machine with numerous moving parts (which is what a $100k business class seat ultimately is) does present potential danger…we just normalize it, because of how intuitive it is to us. Good to remember it is not the case for everybody.
If your mind automatically goes to a stereotype, it sounds like you’re the one with the problem. I had to try to think of what you’re thinking, and that was only after you mentioned it, and I STILL cannot be sure to which stereotype you are referring.
Dude was likely a tanker. Obese people create their own problems for themselves and play victim. Sad
Any information on the passenger's nationality.
Sorry to stereotype,but it sounds like an US citizen
I would and have never blamed anyone else for my own stupidity, for either not knowing or not asking.
A few years ago while traveling on Luftansa business class, the FA adjusted my seat while my arm was in the slot next to the seat. My arm got pinned and it could have been a serious issue had the FA not heeded my urgent request that she immediately stop. Oddly, the FA did not seem the least bit apologetic (and noting this to have occurred during the union/management dispute of late 2015).
Ultimately I sustained no injury but can easily see how an elderly person could have fractured an arm given how the seat rapidly closed off access to the nook.
What stereotype? Most of what is contained here is factual. Saying it's irresponsible to report/share facts is nonsense, unless you're someone that prefers "alternative facts".
Seriously, Nobody takes responsibility for their own action. Throw out the suit and ElAl should put him on no fly list. Pure money grab. Next time the FA leave them in there pinned till landing at destination and then they can explain themselves how they were able to book a flight but are to stupid to read the seat manual, or should we call it to lazy to read. Sorry, try to have empathy but it’s hard when this happens in a business class seat.
Definitely a first class problem. Main cabin sleeps in seats that don't recline and your neighbors feet somewhere where they don't belong.
All available info suggests a denizen of the New York/Florida corridor, with a certain attachment to Israel.
Apparently the "serious injury" was not serious enough to divert or turn back, and there is no report of medical attention being given onboard.
I guess even the occassional person of 'advanced years' can be a drama queen too, on the lookout for a pay-day.
Maybe give your kid to someone with more intelligence than a business class seat as obviously you don't qualify there and the poor kid does not deserve to pay the price for your stupidity.
Search engine suggests plaintiff is a 80+ years old physiatrist.
So medical attention was probably given by the MD himself.
How he got his “lower extremity" (per PYOK) stuck is beyond me.
The other blogs said per lawsuit that his “lower extremity" became entrapped within the seat as it was being reclined.
Did you sue?
Why not?
It seems many readers are annoyed that after reading this article simple people (like you and I) could have also had a chance at a payday and so the divisive comments
I am also surprised it's not happening more often. Actually it probably does and we just don't know about them. I am frequent traveler (million miler) and have my fair share of business/ first class travels including international routes with lay flat seats. I am also healthy and agile in movement above average population. Even I find myself getting caught sometimes with these motorized seats but most of the time it caught my blanket, or clothings, and thank goodness not my skin or body parts. And I was alert enough to realize and stop or reverse the motor to untangle those objects. I sure had water bottle caught and destroyed the bottle like a recycle crusher. These seats are no joke. Surprisingly airlines have never had any briefings in flight to help pessengers avoid this. It's negligence and accidents waiting to happen every flight everyday. I always can't help but think :"what if I am not as agile and as experienced of a traveler, I could easily have this seat hurting me!"
@TravellinWilly
Reading peoples comments on here is way better than writing comments.
This is a frivolous lawsuit. Looking for a money making scheme. Probable cause- embarassment due to inability to operate the seat.
I'm not sure what it is people are. Doing to get stuck in these seats. We've flown business class several times and have never had any issues with the full recline, getting stuck or getting up.
How about people take responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming other people for a payout.
Maybe the gentleman of advanced age noticed, while reclining in his Dreamliner business class seat, that the Earth was a little less flat than he previously thought, which may have caused this terrible anguish.
You guys really need to drop using American domestic terms for foreign markets…
It has gotten so bad that so called online influencers have started calling UA Polaris or delta one as literal First Class
You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Flight attendants are not medical professionals or personal assistants to special needs passengers. They tried to be helpful in this case and it caused unintended injuries. That's why most flight attendants are reluctant to help, to avoid getting in trouble. The passenger should have traveled with an assistant id he cannot reasonably take care of himself.
If he needed help he should have asked. FAs give safety briefings not individual tutorial in how to operate the seat. Was this the first time this passenger flew business class?
I hope the FA can articulate what happened that day when they are summoned.
"what if I am not as agile and as experienced of a traveler, I could easily have this seat hurting me!"
Same reason you don't burn yourself in an open flame (or hot coffee), drown in your bathtub, get hit by a train, strangle yourself with the seatbelt, etc.
Common sense. If you can't navigate life you have much more things to worry about than being stuck in a business class chair.
Have I ever dropped stuff in these seats, very often. Have I ever seen anyone got injured, never.
But in the great nation that you can get rich quick by getting burned by fresh bought coffee, obviously hot, they write warnings not because they're afraid you will get burned. They're afraid they have to pay for people trying to get rich quick, with the help of greedy lawyers of course.
@Brodie: An obese person can lose weight, but you'll always be an asshole. Sad.
Was he overweight ? Did he have a ore existing condition physically and mentally ? It seems unlikely there was a malfunction with the seat these planes are pretty new .
Sounds like bull to me. Another lost trying to scam a lawsuit to line their pockets. In sure he'll settle for a few free tickets and $10-$20K.
The Montreal Convention relieves the airline of liability if the passenger is 100% at fault for his injuries. It will be very tough for this passenger’s lawyers to prevail here since they’re not claiming that the seat malfunctioned. And there’s no claiming a design defect because the chairs are FAA approved. It comes down to El Al’s common practices. Do they normally instruct passengers on how to operate buttons? I suspect the instructions are provided the seatback materials rather than given verbally. But if they are, do they really not do that here? (Doubtful.) I feel bad for the guy, but I specialize in this area of law and I’d decline this case.