The lawyer of the United Airlines passenger that was dragged off of a United Airlines flight heading to Louisville, Kentucky last week, spoke at a news conference Thursday morning.
The attorney of the United Airlines passenger, Thomas Demetrio, said his client David Dao, 69, suffered a concussion, a broken nose, damaged sinuses, as well as two front teeth lost as a result of being dragged off the aircraft.
Demetrio added that it is “probable” a lawsuit will be filed.
“We’re not ready to sue,” Demetrio said. “We’re doing our due diligence.”
“Here’s the law, real simple: If you’re going to eject a passenger, under no circumstances can it be done with unreasonable force or violence,” Demtrio said.
Dao and his wife were flying back from a vacation in California and connecting through Chicago. His wife was also asked to leave the plane after Dao was dragged off.
A hearing on preserving evidence in the incident is set for Monday in Chicago.
“What happened to my dad should never have happened to any human being, regardless of the circumstances,” Crystal Dao Pepper, one of Dao’s children, said at the news conference Thursday. “We were horrified and shocked and sickened to learn what had happened to him and to see what had happened to him. We hope that in the future nothing like this happens again.”
Demetrio said that neither the United Airlines’ CEO, Oscar Munoz, nor United Airlines officials have reached out to Dao or his legal team directly. Dao’s family did accept Munoz public apology, but added that they think it was staged. In a televised interview Wednesday, Munoz said that the airline attempted to contact the family.
“I think his PR people said ‘We’re taking a beating here,'” Demetrio said. “I think he was told to get out there.”
Demetrio said that the incident was more horrifying for Dao than when he fled Vietnam to come to the United States in 1975.
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