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United Airlines violently drags a doctor off a plane so employee could take his seat

Why do you fly United?


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Pineapple

Member
So now the question becomes...how much settlement money is United going to throw at Dr. Dao? The absolute last thing they want is for this to go to trial. It would not only be bad publicity, but they would absolutely not be able to win in court...and would be liable for not only compensatory damages, but punitive damages as well.
 
So now the question becomes...how much settlement money is United going to throw at Dr. Dao? The absolute last thing they want is for this to go to trial. It would not only be bad publicity, but they would absolutely not be able to win in court...and would be liable for not only compensatory damages, but punitive damages as well.

I can't wait until the parents of the kids who had to witness this also jump on board.

edit: zippo, nada
 

Swass

Member
This will never get to court.. United will likely cut I'm betting around a 30 million dollar check to make this go away.
 

Sarye

Member
gotta love this quote
Yet in a community where hundreds of thousands of dollars can be raised quickly — demonstrated by past fundraisers for flooding victims in central Vietnam — there's been no rush in Little Saigon to help Dao, with many believing he will end up with millions from suing United.

"I don't worry about his income at this point," said Tammy Hong as she waited for her turn at the My Ngoc beauty salon in Westminster. "He's totally doing the right thing in hiring the big lawyers.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-united-david-dao-20170412-story.html

Dude's gonna get paid
 

Korey

Member
Reuters Top News @Reuters

BREAKING: United Airlines passenger David Dao suffered 'significant' concussion, broken nose, lost two front teeth: lawyer

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/13/trave...ight-lawsuit-family-attorney-speak/index.html

An attorney for David Dao, the passenger forcefully removed from a United Airlines flight earlier this week, outlined the 69-year-old physician's injuries and told reporters Thursday he would file a lawsuit once they had completed their due diligence.

Already, the legal team has filed a chancery motion asking that all evidence in the case be preserved.

Dao suffered "a significant concussion as a result of disembarking that plane," attorney Thomas Demetrio said in a news conference in Chicago. Dao also lost two front teeth, has a broken nose and incurred injuries to his sinuses, and will be "undergoing reconstructive surgery in that regard," Demetrio said.
 
Press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhZQeS_Kozw

It's going to have to be in the millions i believe. He's gonna get paid by both the police and UA.

I doubt his physical injuries are really all that bad.
His damages will mostly come from pain and suffering from a mental aspect and the false statements made by UA in those emails that were published to the public by leakers within his own company.

But there's really no calculation for these kinds of things. But obviously with the publicity and general negative opinion towards UA, a jury would absolutely hammer UA when it came to awarding punitives. So UA will offer a lot to keep it from ever getting there. I think we've all seen those movies where the jury awards a fairly nominal restitution award and then tens or hundreds of millions in punitives. The rationale here would be that one of the largest airlines in the US would only be punished if they had to pay millions.
Welp...
Reuters Top News @Reuters

BREAKING: United Airlines passenger David Dao suffered 'significant' concussion, broken nose, lost two front teeth: lawyer

And that's not all...
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Reuters Top News @Reuters

BREAKING: United Airlines passenger David Dao suffered 'significant' concussion, broken nose, lost two front teeth: lawyer

Literally beat his ass so United employees could serve peanuts on time in another state
 
So now the question becomes...how much settlement money is United going to throw at Dr. Dao? The absolute last thing they want is for this to go to trial. It would not only be bad publicity, but they would absolutely not be able to win in court...and would be liable for not only compensatory damages, but punitive damages as well.

It's basically a game of chicken at this point

Could see it go 7 figures

My question is why is the blame solely on UA alone and not the officers who manhandled him that way?

Cause they called the cops

They basically SWATted their own passenger
 

Dan-o

Member
My question is why is the blame solely on UA alone and not the officers who manhandled him that way?
My guess is United didn't explain to the officers why they wanted him removed. Typically, when they call them in, I'm sure it's because the passenger is unruly in one way or another, so that's what they expect going in.
 
IDK if it was brought up in one of the previous pages but that news smear had the right Dr. Dao in the first place and it's still irrelevant.
 

Saya

Member
dao-e1492034081798.jpg


It's pretty bad...
 

Sarye

Member
I've been watching the press conference and there's some interesting tidbits in there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhZQeS_Kozw

- He suffered a concussion and had no memory of coming back on the plane the second time (when he was saying over and over, 'I have to go home')
- He fled Saigon when it fell in the 70s and his experience being dragged like that was more harrowing and more terrifying
- He is 69 years old. Think about that for a moment about how much more dangerous the injuries he sustained were.

It's a bit hard to watch for me because how angry it makes me
 

dopplr

Member
I hope he doesn't settle unless it's in the tens/hundreds of millions. Send a message so nothing remotely close to this ever happens - this could have easily been any one of us, including your parents, siblings etc. Escalation for absolutely no reason. The dude doesn't wanna give up his seat that he paid for - then you figure that shit out, you don't attack a customer.
 
I thought the guy just hit his face on an arm rest? Jesus did they work him over after they dragged him off the plane?


And that's why we don't throw a 69-year-old around for no reason. My grandma was unlocking her front door, and a stiff wind kicked up and blew her off​ the step like she was the plastic bag in American Beauty. The older you get, the easier it is to be injured, and the harder it is to recover.
 
Can someone explain to me what a trial would accomplish? Yes this is a serious ignorant question

I'm guessing large fines?

A public airing of these policies and records of how often this happens, if this was truly random selection, etc. The deposition possiblity would be a sight to behold. Considering the CEO himself has weighed in he might have put himself on the witness list. This would be the trial and experience of a lifetime for an attorney. Free shots at a mega corp. And no downside.
 
Can someone explain to me what a trial would accomplish? Yes this is a serious ignorant question

I'm guessing large fines?

A trial wouldn't really accomplish anything except delay what's expected to be a massive payout because United and the police officers completely screwed the pooch here.

The only way this would go to trial would be if United tries to lowball him - but since they've completely admitted they were in the wrong, I'm sure the first question to the lawyer will be "How many zeroes do you want on the check?"
 

Nevasleep

Member
My question is why is the blame solely on UA alone and not the officers who manhandled him that way?
The situation should never have got that far...trying to offload a passenger already in their seat is never going to end well.
Plus, I think people's anger of shitty airlines has been building for years, and beating your own passenger, who is a doctor, already sitting on a plane so your employee can steal their seat, is a step too far...oh and then coming out with awful apologies until the share price dropped.
 

Sarye

Member
Can someone explain to me what a trial would accomplish? Yes this is a serious ignorant question

I'm guessing large fines?

If it goes to trial, the jury sets the punitive damage amount that he should receive. It is a lot and will most likely be a lot more than the settlement amount he will receive. Plus having this go to trial means that you'll have constant negative press about your company which will further push people away from flying with United.

Even at this moment there are many stories coming out about United's treatment of customers. They just never went as far as it did with Dr. Dao.
 
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