The hits keep coming for United Airlines—or rather, from United Airlines. Just a few months after United employees battered a paying customer while forcibly removing him from his seat, captivating the national news in the process, another man is alleging violence at the hands of the airline’s staff. It’s tough to argue with this video.
Ronald Tigner filed a $1 million lawsuit against United Airlines after an employee shoved him violently to the ground, then left his lifeless body there. The incident occurred in 2015, and the United employee was fired shortly after. So why is Tigner in the news now? Because in the process of his lawsuit, video of the argument was released, and it’s pretty horrifying.
In the two-minute clip, Tigner is seen approaching the employee to ask a question. The employee shoves him, sees him fall, and walks away. Though he stays nearby and can clearly see that Tigner is unconscious (or at least, stunned), he does nothing. It’s actually only a fellow passenger who pauses to check on Tigner.
“We want people to come forward who’ve been treated just like Mr. Tigner and like Dr. Dao, any of the other people who’ve flown United and been treated this way, because this has to stop,” said Tigner’s lawyer William Hoke, referring to David Dao, the passenger whose assault at the hands of United went viral in April.
In their own statement, United Airlines said, “The conduct shown here does not reflect our values or our commitment to treat all of our customers with respect and dignity. We are taking a thorough look into what happened here and reaching out to our customer to profusely apologize for what occurred and to make this right.”