Dr. David Dao, the passenger who was forcefully dragged off a United Airlines flight, suffered from a “significant” concussion and broken nose, as well as the loss of his two front teeth, his lawyer said Thursday at a press conference.
Dao was removed from a flight on Sunday to make room for the airline’s employees. Videos of Dao’s removal went viral and show him screaming in protest and being dragged off the plane, bleeding, by aviation officers.
“If you’re going to eject a passenger, under no circumstances can it be done with unreasonable force or violence. That’s the law,” said Thomas Demetrio, attorney for the 69-year-old Kentucky physician. “We want fairness in how people treat us. We want respect, and we want dignity.”
Demetrio added that there will “probably” be a lawsuit as result of the serious injuries Dao has endured.
From nurses taking care of Dao to prayers given to him, Crystal Pepper, Dao’s daughter, said at the conference that she is grateful for all the support that her dad is receiving from all over the world. Still, it has been “a very difficult time” for her family, she said.
“What happened to my dad shouldn’t have happened to any human being regardless of the circumstance,” Pepper said. “We were horrified, shocked and sickened to learn what happened to him and to see what happened to him. We hope that in the future nothing like this happens again. Thank you so much again for your support.”
United released a statement after the news conference stating that the company and its CEO, Oscar Munoz, express their “heartfelt and deepest apologies.”
“This horrible situation has provided a harsh learning experience from which we will take immediate, concrete action,” United said. “We have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again.”
But the airline continues to face its biggest-ever PR disaster. Many have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment with United’s actions.
“Sorry doesn’t update planes, policies or customer service,” one Twitter user wrote in response to United’s apology. “You’re done. Whole company needs reworking. Keep the sorry and fix with actions.”
