Aviation giant American Airlines, headquartered in Texas, was named in a wrongful death lawsuit after a passenger is believed to have died because of food poisoning during a connecting flight.
Earlier this year, in May, the 73-year-old passenger flew from Barcelona to New York. During the flight he enjoyed an entrée with chicken. After the flight landed in New York, the man experienced sharp stomach cramps. Despite feeling ill, he boarded a connecting flight to Miami.
Not long after the plane took flight, the man suffered “nausea, shortness of breath and a cardiac event.” The plane made an emergency landing in Virginia, but it was too late for the 73-year-old. He was pronounced dead shortly after the emergency landing. His wife had been traveling with him throughout the trip.
According to papers filed in court, American Airlines served chicken to the man that was contaminated with a deadly bacteria. The lawsuit alleges that American Airlines and its catering company, Sky Chefs, did not properly prepare or maintain his meal. Sky Chef has already opposed the lawsuit, claiming that it did not cater the international flight.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by the passenger’s wife and daughter, is seeking over $1 million in damages.
Source: Daily Mail, “American Airlines sued after man DIES after in-flight meal,” 12/1/11.