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Sickly, obese Bronx woman dies in Hungary after airlines say she's too fat to fly
New York Post ^ | November 26, 2012 | Chuck Bennet

Posted on 11/26/2012 11:23:14 AM PST by billorites

A sickly, obese Bronx woman was left stranded in Hungary then died from kidney failure after airline officials booted her from three New York-bound flights because she was too fat, her husband says.

“All we wanted was to come back home to get her treatment,” said a grieving Janos Soltesz, a Staten Island Ferry security guard whose 56-year-old wife, Vilma, died in Hungary nine days after she was kicked off the first of three jets.

Vilma, who weighed about 425 pounds, had only one leg and used a wheelchair. She traveled with her husband of 33 years to Hungary on Delta and KLM airlines on Sept. 17.

They spent several relaxing weeks at a vacation home they owned in the Hungarian countryside. It was a trip they took almost every year.

Before the journey, their travel agent informed Delta of Vilma’s condition and bought two tickets for her and one for Janos.

They planned to come home Oct. 15 so Vilma could resume treatment with the doctors she had been seeing for years.

But the couple, both natives of Hungary, were told Vilma couldn’t be accommodated by KLM after they boarded the jet home, Janos said.

“They tried to fit her into the back of the plane, but they didn’t have an extension to secure her,” Janos, 56, said.

Her illness, a combination of kidney disease and diabetes, caused her to gain water weight, and the airline said it didn’t have a seat-belt extender for her, Janos said.

He was also told the seat back couldn’t handle his wife’s weight.

“It appeared on the passenger’s return that it was not physically possible for her to board the aircraft, despite every effort made by KLM to this end. A seat or belt extender did not offer a solution, either,” said KLM

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airline
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To: Procyon

Obamaphones

Everytime I see this I have to laugh. We they Bushphones in early 2000’s? It does have a better ring with Obamaphones then Bushphones. Both presidents had the program and in fact, it was President Bush who began the program. Shouldn’t surprise anyone since he started the drug program, No child left behind and Homeland Security...big government the both of them.


21 posted on 11/26/2012 11:59:34 AM PST by napscoordinator (GOP Candidate 2020 - "Bloomberg 2020 - We vote for whatever crap the GOP puts in front of us.")
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To: livius

“She had options, and this is just hubby trying to make a buck.”

I tend to agree. An “extension cord” is nothing more than another seat belt that’s attached to the existing seat belt. It’s not a special gadget.


22 posted on 11/26/2012 11:59:34 AM PST by toldyou (Even if the voices aren't real, they have some pretty good ideas.)
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To: Berlin_Freeper

Money talks. The airline probably sold her a roundtrip ticket in the US and reneged on the return trip.


23 posted on 11/26/2012 12:00:25 PM PST by 353FMG (The US Constitution is only as effective as those who enforce it.)
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To: TurboZamboni

Sick bastard.


24 posted on 11/26/2012 12:03:18 PM PST by beelzepug ("Why bother creating wealth when you can just redistribute it?")
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To: pfflier

The USAF could have used a C-17 or even a C-130.


25 posted on 11/26/2012 12:04:10 PM PST by OKRA2012
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To: billorites

Hungary’s government health service was not able to keep her alive.


26 posted on 11/26/2012 12:09:15 PM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Implementing class warfare by having no class.)
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To: Gamecock
Before the journey, their travel agent informed Delta of Vilma’s condition and bought two tickets for her and one for Janos.

Sounds to me like the widower has good grounds for a lawsuit. 425 pound divided by two = 212.5 pounds or roughly the average weight of a middle aged adult. The airline not only breached a clear contract, but contributed to the woman's death by their refusal to fly her after she had followed guidelines and bought two tickets.

It wasn't some fatty trying to waltz into the aisle seat and hang her butt over the center at the last minute. It was a disabled person request which the airline was obliged to accommodate by being informed of the condition and selling the ticket.

27 posted on 11/26/2012 12:11:43 PM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: SengirV

Why not?

Are you saying Socialized Medicine is worse than US medicine?

But it’s FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


28 posted on 11/26/2012 12:18:59 PM PST by wac3rd (Somewhere in Hell, Ted Kennedy snickers....)
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To: billorites

If she was okay to board the plane tp Hungary, she should probably be okay to come back.

Just a thought.


29 posted on 11/26/2012 12:37:03 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: Vigilanteman
the flight attendants couldn’t get her out of the wheelchair and into the seats, even with the assistance of the local fire department. The airlines did the best they could do and offered them another route (she wasn’t in critical condition), but her husband decided to stop trying.

The airline didn't refuse to fly her. It appears they exhausted reasonable efforts and suggested an alternative which the husband refused.

30 posted on 11/26/2012 12:39:26 PM PST by Procyon (Decentralize, degovernmentalize, deregulate, demonopolize, decredentialize, disentitle.)
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To: Romulus

Nice post. Seriously. You got class!


31 posted on 11/26/2012 12:40:11 PM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: SengirV

I guess for the slow kids I have to add the sarcasm tag


32 posted on 11/26/2012 12:41:18 PM PST by muir_redwoods (Don't fire until you see the blue of their helmets)
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To: reg45

My mother just told me about this story. She took away from it that the Hungarian health care system failed her.


33 posted on 11/26/2012 12:42:58 PM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: Da Coyote

I looked into medical transport when my brother took ill in NYC while on vacation. We wanted to fly him back to KC. It would have cost around $8-10,000. We would have considered it but he was on a vent and they wouldn’t take him unless he was on a trake. He died before they could make that change. Then, they inquired into flying his body back. That would have cost $8K. Ended up cremating him.


34 posted on 11/26/2012 12:46:23 PM PST by Mercat
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To: dfwgator

I’m on my iPhone. Can you please post Monty Pythons Bungarian phrase book photo “My hover craft is full of eels!” ? Thanks!


35 posted on 11/26/2012 12:47:32 PM PST by DCBryan1 (If there is ever another revolution, we need to decorate telephone poles with the MSM.)
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To: napscoordinator

I’m very surprised you think this is funny. You’re usually more sensitive than this. She was a fellow human being.


36 posted on 11/26/2012 12:48:15 PM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: Ouderkirk

The seat belt and/or extender was for the airline’s legal benefit, to protect them from liability in case she was injured.


37 posted on 11/26/2012 12:50:02 PM PST by EDINVA
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To: Mercat

I wish you had kept him in NYC! We still have great, great medical services. So sorry for your loss.


38 posted on 11/26/2012 12:50:02 PM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: Berlin_Freeper

she was smaller and was able to board. Her kidneys started failing and her water gain bloated her body.

There is nothing really funny about this case, it is just a tragedy. She did what she was supposed to do. She bought two tickets. I am surprised they airline did not just bolt down her seat to not recline. (have seen that with other obese passengers on airplanes)

The fuzzy part of the article is whether she was too big for the door.


39 posted on 11/26/2012 12:50:14 PM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Popman

think hospital from the 1950’s with a dash, and only a dash, of modern meds.


40 posted on 11/26/2012 12:57:50 PM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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