NEW YORK — Dr. David Dao, the 69-year-old passenger forcefully removed from a United Airlines flight earlier this week, suffered “a significant concussion as a result of disembarking that plane,” attorney Thomas Demetrio said in a Thursday news conference.
Dao also lost two front teeth, has a broken nose and incurred injuries to his sinuses, and will be “undergoing reconstructive surgery in that regard,” Demetrio said. Dao was dragged off a plane in Chicago last Sunday.
Demetrio said the experience was more horrifying than when Dao left Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. Dao came to the U.S. in 1975. His daughter said the 69-year-old is the father of five children.
Demetrio said he “probably” will file a lawsuit on Dao’s behalf.
United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz has said he was “ashamed” when he saw the video and that the airline is reviewing its policies. Munoz said law enforcement won’t be involved in removing passengers in the future.
Demetrio said he and his client accept the United CEO Oscar Munoz’s apology that was issued two days after first blaming Dao, but thinks was “staged” and done because the airline was taking a public relations “beating.”
Demetrio says Dao will “probably” sue over the incident and that the city of Chicago, which employs the guards, is also responsible.
Demetrio filed a petition on Wednesday asking that all potential evidence from the episode be preserved.
If he does file suit, either against United or the Chicago authorities who manhandled him, he has a good case, legal experts say.
As everyone now knows, Dao refused to give up his seat on a flight to Louisville, Kentucky. United needed to free up seats for commuting crew members.
Trial lawyer Aaron Podhurst, who represents plaintiffs in aviation cases, said he believes Dao can make a strong civil case based on the assault and battery that appears to have occurred. United could be liable, and Dao could also sue Chicago authorities for use of excessive force, Podhurst said.
“This case is a very strong case for the passenger,” Podhurst said. He added that he expects Dao would be able to secure a settlement.
Passengers agree to a litany of terms in any airline’s “contract of carriage,” which they agree to when purchasing a ticket. But the agreement doesn’t sign away the right to sue if the airline treats a passenger in a manner that breaches the law.
“If you’re injured, or dragged off the airplane, or falsely arrested, you can sue,” said Andrew Harakas, head of the aviation law group at Clyde & Co.
Airlines do have legal protection if they act in a reasonable way when refusing to transport a passenger that is a threat to himself or other passengers, Harakas said.
David Katzman, an aviation lawyer with Katzman Lampert & McClune, said that standard doesn’t likely apply in the United case.
“You could give this to a group of first-year lawyers and they could list all the claims this guy has,” he said, naming intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to assault and battery.
United CEO Oscar Munoz initially said that Dao was “disruptive and belligerent” but on Wednesday, Munoz walked back such language, saying he did not blame Dao for what happened.
He told ABC that United did not give its managers “the proper tools, policies, procedures.”
United released a statement soon after Dao’s press conference that reads:
We continue to express our sincerest apology to Dr. Dao. We cannot stress enough that we remain steadfast in our commitment to make this right.
This horrible situation has provided a harsh learning experience from which we will take immediate, concrete action. We have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again.
First, we are committing that United will not ask law enforcement officers to remove passengers from our flights unless it is a matter of safety and security. Second, we’ve started a thorough review of policies that govern crew movement, incentivizing volunteers in these situations, how we handle oversold situations and an examination of how we partner with airport authorities and local law enforcement. Third, we will fully review and improve our training programs to ensure our employees are prepared and empowered to put our customers first. Our values – not just systems – will guide everything we do. We’ll communicate the results of our review and the actions we will take by April 30.
United CEO Oscar Munoz and the company called Dr. Dao on numerous occasions to express our heartfelt and deepest apologies.
CNN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
