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.”
He should pay United for causing the mess.
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Exactly right. What were the police supposed to do when he refused to deplane and taunted them that they would have to drag him out? Should they have responded, “Oh, okay, have a nice flight” and left him there? LOCK HIM UP!
The tenants do have rights but they are limited in the circumstances I described.
The correct answer IMHO is “put them in whatever it would take to get them to Louisville.” Get it done.
There are lots of old, mad customers with time and money on their hands that would love to do just that, not just the Dao's.
That's life!
Whatever he gets it’s going to be a s-load and I wish it happened to me.
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I suspect that was his thinking as well.
From your posts, it’s clear that your self-flagellation to black light posters of your hero raphael cruz, has taken a toll on your 3 brain cells.
That’s horrible...
IIRC you don’t live in the USA.
So there is no “my state” in your case.
Perhaps that is why you are flying the flag of Zambia.
Trump made a considerable portion of his fortune from the hospitality business, don’t doubt it.
OK. LOL.
What are drinking or smoking?
I have taught my children not to resist arrest. How many high profile incidents are a result of resisting arrest? Should we now tell them arrest is an economic opportunity?
Did you read about the wealthy guy who was recently bumped from his first class ticket on United in Hawaii...United used similar M.O...He wanted an apology, a ticket refund and for United to donate $25,000 to their favorite charity. Seems this type of passenger treatment is not an isolated case.
t looks like United may very well have violated laws—because he was checked in, assigned seat and on the plane. Plane was not overbooked. Lawyers and not FR posters will decide.
That said, it was very foolish and incredibly shortsighted of United to not just send their Republic staff interlopers on another flight or rent them a car for the 5-hour drive.
It is not a matter of teaching that it is an economic opportunity to stand your ground. I saw the video where the doc said he may or will sue Untied, but I think that was an attempt to get them to back down and not remove him...He just wanted to get home after flying for 20 hours. I don’t think he was looking for financial opportunity—he needed to be in Louisville Monday morning and United was planning to put them on a 2:00ish flight on Monday, so in reality, he would not have been back to work till Tuesday.
I am glad the doc made a stand...I flew on United frequently growing up. They have changed—their skies are not friendly~I have had issues with United that were not properly redressed like many former United Flyers. United could care less about my passenger customer satisfaction. There just were not dozens with cell phones recording my grievances. Oh, and my grievances occurred on flights booked for business—not economy~some seem to feel that passengers paying economy fare should be allowed to be treated no better than cattle.
Just a different perspective.
Fregards.
oh bullsheet. Anybody with a spine would have told those jackboots “make me” just like he did. As a lawyer, I say that doesn’t hurt his case a bit.
Perhaps a better example would be a hotel room, since a short-term stay would be more akin to a passenger transportation arrangement and there is no “lease” to speak of.
Which part is slowing you down?
We have the concept of market competition in which vendors compete for customers.
Vendors that play fast and loose with laws and rules to the detriment of customer rights and service levels in general — effectively, scofflaws — need to be given strong incentives to change for the better or else pick up their marbles and leave the game to those who play by the rules.
Otherwise why have laws at all?
Punishment serves, among other things, the purpose of deterrence.
UAL is free to take the financial settlement hit out of the CEO bonuses and stock dividends. Shareholders will notice, and demand change for the better in management practices, to assure better profits in future quarters.
What am I missing?
don’t know how easy it is to just hire a twin-engine prop plane on short notice.
And does O’Hare Airport even allow that sort of aircraft to take up landing and departing slots in their schedule? The major airports in my area don’t.
They could have rented a car for a pittance and a 5-hour drive.
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