Posted on 04/14/2017 3:11:24 PM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
The passenger who was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight by aviation security officials Sunday garnered much public sympathy in the days since video emerged of him being dragged, bloody and screaming, down the aisle of a plane. David Dao, 69, retained a lawyer and filed a petition with an Illinois court to get all evidence related to the incident preserved.
While a lawsuit wasn't filed, Dao’s lawyer confirmed in a press conference Thursday there would likely be one, which begs the question: In the wake of such a high-profile, controversial incident, how much will Dao get?
“Dr. Dao will likely get millions here,” James Goodnow, an attorney with the Lamber-Goodnow Injury Law Team at Fennemore Craig, who is licensed in Chicago, told International Business Times in an interview Thursday. “The only question is how many zeros will follow the first number.”
Dao has a number of claims against both the city of Chicago and United. First and foremost, he has an assault and battery case.
“This is going to be a slam dunk, a no-brainer, an easy win,” Goodnow told IBT. “It’s documented on multiple cell phones. There’s no question.
Other claims will likely include breach of contract, false imprisonment, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“That’s just a big fancy way of saying that the officers involved, and/or United Airlines, intentionally engaged in outrageous conduct that could be expected to have an emotional impact on Dr. Dao,” said Goodnow. “I think most people would consider this conduct outrageous and I think there’s little question Dao has suffered emotionally.”
There is no specific monetary cap in Chicago on what a plaintiff can get. Dao would likely collect on an array of damages including medical bills, lost wages and general damages, which include those things that can’t be quantified, like emotional distress and pain and suffering. Illinois is one of the most restrictive places in the country when it comes to punitive damages, which refer to damages awarded to punish wrongdoers and deter future wrong conduct, so lawyers would have to look elsewhere for a larger payday.
“The real money is going to come in the area of emotional distress damages — the pain and suffering. We call those general damages,” said Goodnow. “That’s where you can juice this up from a monetary perspective.”
In a typical personal injury case, Goodnow explained, a general rule of thumb is that plaintiffs are rewarded three to four times his or her medical bills. In a case where a client’s past and future medical bills are estimated to be about $100,000, the payout would likely be somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000. Not so for Dao, namely because the case will almost certainly never make it to court.
“What you will see here is a settlement value that will blow away anything Dr. Dao will ever recover in court,” said Goodnow.
Because of the nature of the case and the intense public scrutiny, United will likely be motivated to aim for a settlement, which will garner a larger payout for Dao than a trial would. The company has already become the subject of numerous boycotts, internet mocking and a plunging stock price and can’t afford to be at the center of yet another controversy.
“Look at the attention this case has received in just a few days,” said Goodnow. “Imagine what would happen if you have a public trial and every reporter is covering it. Every day will be another paper cut for United.”
The mistakes made by United after the incident will presumably benefit Dao. At least, from a monetary standpoint.
Instead of apologizing to Dao, the airline said it was sorry for having to “re-accommodate” passengers in their first statement. They were the subject of swift backlash by people who took issue with the phrasing. In a different memo to employees, which was obtained by the media, CEO Oscar Munoz appeared to blame Dao for being “disruptive and belligerent” and leaving the crew “no choice” but to call aviation security to forcibly remove him, though video recorded right before the incident suggested otherwise.
“All of these missteps are going to enter into the equation when United is deciding how much to pay here,” said Goodnow. “If United insults Dr. Dao and his legal team with a 'lowball' offer, they risk an ever greater backlash. If that information were to leak out, it would be so damaging if it looks like, in the face of this, United is trying to get out on the cheap.”
Munoz issued yet another statement from the company Tuesday in which he took “full responsibility” and pledged to make the situation right.
“I don’t think United’s legal team is going to try and 'lowball' Dr. Dao here,” said Goodnow. “I think they’re going to come in with the biggest number they can to get this put to bed as soon as possible.”
Wait times were increased by the TSA.
Continue on.
If I get seated on a plane, pay me 2,000 and I'll leave. Otherwise, you can beat me up and pay 20,000,000. Your call.
No disrespect but you must not do a lot of flying. Crews get shuffled around constantly. The crew that landed in Louisville was most likely going to get timed out. Therefore another crew needed to get to Louisville to get the airplane back.
It is very common for airline employees to commute to work via airplane.
Welcome to modern litigation with the big boys. Even if he has a solid claim, hes under contract with UAL. At minimum the terms in such a boiler plate contract will likely include limitations of damages and mandatory arbitration clauses.
He has good lawyers, but the rules in arbitration are different then in court, discovery can be severely limited, Lawyers can be limited or excluded, etc. IF UAL has competent lawyers then the terms of the contract and federal laws will control how much he can be compensated.
What are you going to do? Throw a hissy fit and protest on the plane like the doctor did?
That’ll set a great precedence for future flights.../s
Which is exactly what will happen if you mentally ill pill-doc cheerleaders get your way.
Pretty good summary in the case cited and linked at Post 112. Punitive damages were paltry, too.
UAL sure shattered that contract.
You think one of the top litigators in Chicago would have taken this case if those limitations applied? They would probably not even cover the his fees.
He was asked to leave.
Those bloody ears and mouth will not limit that compensation.
You should know that.
He said No.
Crawl out of your Friday night bottle, sober up and come back later.
Ah, I boxed for years when I was younger.
If more damage is done I wouldn’t know it and if I die i wont know it :)
You claimed that the “majority have the sense to understand and comprehend the facts and the correctness of their positions.” The majority DO think it is settled that mankind is responsible for global warming. I disagree with them. The validity of my position does not depend on how many people agree or disagree with me. It is astonishing to me that anyone thinks that whether an argument is correct or not necessarily depends on how many people agree with it.
And I never predicted that United would not settle.
My point, if anyone on here even reads the posts they are replying to anymore, was that Dao did not have the right to physically resist when United ordered him off of their airplane, even CONCEDING for argument’s sake that United was breaching the terms of his ticket.
Can Dao win in a courtroom? He cannot win on the specific point I made.
But he can win in court on other points. The biggest one is, did United’s security agents use EXCESSIVE force in removing him?
They only had the right to use necessary force in removing him. With a favorable jury, if he had injuries that were properly documented, and with a good lawyer, he might be able to persuade a jury that the force used was more than was necessary to get him off the plane. Any serious injuries will make him a sympathetic party, and anyway people hate airlines. And juries tend to go against large corporations and for individual parties. That could give him a BIG payday. Even if United successfully shows that Dao was contributorily at fault by physically resisting an order to leave the plane, I think in Illinois that will only reduce the amount not bar the recovery if I am not mistaken.
My expectation is that United will settle for a substantial sum, because of the public relations disaster the entire situation is to them, and the risk that a roll of the dice before a jury on an excessive force claim could go against them.
I am not claiming United did not act stupidly here. I am willing to concede that United violated the terms of Dao’s ticket contract for argument’s sake.
What I am telling people is that if an airline orders you to remove yourself from their airplane, you do not have the legal right to physically resist them.
Your only remedy is to go to court and seek money damages for any violations by the airline.
You have not been thru arbitration before I take it. He can get compensated for pain and suffering - they have formulas, but odds are hes not going to get more then somebody killed on a plane.
I will take that bet. How much do you wish to wager that I will be surprised?
The police had no business being involved in the first place. The man had committed no crime
Even if it was only to say, "I tol' that fool not to do it!"
Then the wait times will be even longer if you loons get your way.
Just wait...counselors will have to be hired by the airlines to come in and mediate any and all conflicts while everyone waits on the tarmac.
If the flight crew says put that bag into the overhead bin and you don’t want to...they will have to call the counselors while everyone twiddles their thumbs and films the conflict.
Did I mention, GORON?
He shouldn’t wait because he is as told to get off the plane. Then he was told to get off or he would be forcibly removed. Then he was forcibly removed which he resisted. How much more waiting was UA and the rest of the passengers supposed to endure. I think he had his answer on a sweetener when the CDA officers showed up.
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