Widow sues Southwest over husband's death in airplane bathroom

[Hatu]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/04/23/widow-sues-southwest-husband-death-airplane-bathroom/26228809/

 

[eolesen]

Yeah, that's going to be a tough case to decide. 1 in 4 PE's results in sudden death, and the lawsuit claims his brain was deprived of oxygen for at least 33 minutes, and the lawsuit claims it took 30 minutes to deplane.

I've yet to see a Southwest flight take 30 minutes to deplane, so that part is clearly BS.

Administering CPR can increase the mortality rate, so I suspect anything the crew could have done wouldn't have changed the situation.

 

[700UW]

My GF of two years died five years ago of a PE, I was holding her when the paramedics were working on her, the Drs told me that even if she was in the hospital and threw a clot, she still would have died, once you throw it your gone.

 

[eolesen]

I can't imagine what it was like for you going thru that experience, 700.

 

[700UW]

Eric,
 
I am ok, now its been five years, it is what it is.
 
But to make it worse was she died on Valentines Day and two days later was my birthday and we had to plan her funeral on my birthday, so I just kinda try to get through those few days each year.
 
Its kinda surreal, I wont go into great detail, but I guess God gave me the strength to be calm, and try to soothe her while she was going through this and at least someone who loved her and someone she loved was there with her.
 
But thanks.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Yeah, that's going to be a tough case to decide. 1 in 4 PE's results in sudden death, and the lawsuit claims his brain was deprived of oxygen for at least 33 minutes, and the lawsuit claims it took 30 minutes to deplane.

I've yet to see a Southwest flight take 30 minutes to deplane, so that part is clearly BS.

Administering CPR can increase the mortality rate, so I suspect anything the crew could have done wouldn't have changed the situation.

there really isn't any difficulty at all in deciding what went wrong and who was responsible.

It was only later that the cause of death was determined.

FAs and other lay people don't have the knowledge or training to make a decision as to what is the cause of distress.

Their ONLY choice is to call for professional help or to administer first aid or CPR.

Given that the FAs made the decision to call him a disruptive passenger and call the police instead of ask for first aid, there will be very definite questions as to how any person, let alone an FA can fail to understand the difference between a person who is slumped over and crying vs. one that is disruptive.
A judge or jury will have a very hard time believing an FA's assessment of a passenger as disruptive when he is moaning, crying, and slumped over.

The only disruption was that the flight was likely cleared to land and the seat belt sign was on at a time when the passenger went to the bathroom and died alone because of a lack of basic common sense.

The fact that WN's statement was that the FAs acted appropriately is unbelievable. If a company thinks that FAs act appropriately by leaving a dying passenger in the bathroom is appropriate, God help anyone that manages to get sick on a WN aircraft.

the basis of a determination of a wrong doing will not be on whether the FAs knew the outcome but whether they acted on what they are taught to do for people in medical distress.

and 700, I can't imagine what you went thru but remember that Mr. Ilczyszyn's widow has to live with the repeated images that he died alone and neglected even while surrounded by scores of people.

I trust that God has been gracious to you, 700, and that a jury will find in favor of Mrs. Ilczyszyn in a message to WN that it is not at all ok to make such a tragically wrong determination

Given that Mr. Ilczyszyn was a fairly high profile person and his widow undoubtedly has access to the widow, the case likely won't go away if WN refuses to low ball her.