An American Airlines passenger who ended up breaking his leg when he got up from his seat to let the person sitting next to him go to the bathroom is suing the Fort Worth-based carrier for failing to warn him of potential turbulence in the area they were flying.
Gael Severoni of Takoma Park, Maryland, has filed a lawsuit in a Louisana district court accusing American Airlines of negligence and of violating Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations following the midair accident on August 9, 2023.Severoni was sitting in an aisle seat during the two-hour flight from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans when his seatmate in the middle seat asked him to move so he could use the bathroom.The lawsuit alleges that the pilots failed to warn passengers of impending severe turbulence, and with flight attendants carrying on with their duties in the aisle, Severoni thought nothing of getting up to let his seatmate out.
But at the exact moment that Severoni stepped into the aisle, he claims that the Airbus A319 was rocked by severe turbulence which sent him tumbling to the ground.
The fall caused a serious spiral fracture of the distal tibia in Severoni’s left ankle, which left him in extreme pain and required continuing medical treatment.The complaint does not state whether the seat belt signs were on at the time of Severoni’s injury but rather alleges that flight attendants failed to warn passengers to remain seated and bucked up in the moments leading up to his accident.
It was only after the severe turbulence had struck and Severoni was already injured and in pain on the floor of the aisle that the flight crew warned passengers to strap themselves in.
Severoni says that the pilots should have known of the impending turbulence and either rerouted the flight to avoid the rough air or properly warned passengers to strap themselves in before the turbulence struck.Of course, while pilots have access to weather maps and reports from other aircraft in the region, not all turbulence can be predicted and it’s not always realistic to expect a warning before it suddenly strikes.
That’s why a lot of airlines encourage passengers to keep their seatbelts fastened whenever they are seated – although, of course, this safety advice would not have helped Severoni.
Following the severe turbulence incident that left dozens of passengers and crew seriously injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow in May, the aviation industry has promised to take turbulence more seriously and we have already seen several airlines introduce new initiatives to help protect passengers and crew.
Singapore Airlines now suspends all meal services whenever the seatbelt signs are switched on and instructs crew members to sit in their jumpseats, while Korean Air recently made headlines for its decision to stop serving Cup Noodles as a mid-flight snack due to the risk of turbulence-induced burn injury.
The question for a court in Severoni’s case will be whether the pilots could have reasonably predicted that severe turbulence was likely to rock the plane and whether they took all reasonable precautions to protect their passengers.
American Airlines is yet to respond to Severoni’s lawsuit.