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.”
So if we don’t get to our destination as per our PAID TICKET we don’t have ground to sue? My money is on the Dr.
Non Lawyer here and I said 5 Mil from day one. Glad to see my judgment on this is good.
If he represents himself he will lose the case ... or he’ll win the case and will be awarded $1 in damages.
Oh, the chest-thumpers are going to be after you.
That was a fascinating article. It looks like United’s jerkish, unprofessional and illegal practices finally caught up with them. Fearns won’t get the award Dao is looking at, but I do hope he sues. I bet that $25,000 is dwindling in the rear view mirror about this time. United’s liability just expanded.
Interesting but wasn’t that case just about the damages resulting from being bumped?
Nothing about assault and battery.
IMO, the best tactic for that is to "do nothing," no settlement, no public discussion of this case, but perhaps public statements about changes in how booking, overbooking, training, etc. The only way this "disappears" from public view is silence. Action increases the public awareness, and I don't see any action by United as helpful to United. They are stuck with this tar baby for as long as it is in the public eye, and nothing they do can make it go away faster.
The wheels of justice turn slowly. Let the lawyers work it out.
I suspect UAL's true position was revealed in Munoz's first letter; and the second one is BS.
I also think Dao's claims are much weaker than his lawyer is crowing. They look fine now, but they haven't been subjected to the sort of counter-argument that UAL will make "when real money is at stake."
I am not sure it was worth the press conference if they expected less than $1 million. Lawyers will get 30% plus fees. The doctor will have costs too. His insurance company will want to be paid the amount of their costs. So, I expect that the Doctor’s lawyers are thinking about $5 million. But they may settle for 3, giving the law firm a million and the Doctor gets 2 million. However he will need to pay for his own medical. And his own insurance won’t. So he will take home around $1.5 million.
<<< Most likely the amount of settlement will not be disclosed, by agreement. >>>
Unless the City of Chicago is a defendant. That’s taxpayers money.
1) That he was indeed damaged as a result of the incident. I think that's fairly easy, since he was bloodied, and reputedly lost some teeth;
2) That he was not responsible in any way for the damages. That's tougher, since he was the one who resisted what will be shown to be a lawful order.
3) That United Airlines was the party responsible for inflicting the damages. That one is hardest of all, since it was a Republics airplane, and the officers who removed him were not employees of either UAL or Republic.
If it goes to a jury, which it probably won't, he might have a better chance, since juries are stupid and vote as much on emotion as on rule of law. Strictly speaking, and public opinion notwithstanding, he has an uphill battle.
Yes you have grounds to sue them for not honoring their end of the bargain.
What you don’t have is the right to physically force them to fly you to your destination.
If they decline to transport you to your destination and tell you to get off of their plane, you get your money damages. But you don’t get to take over the plane, whether by staying in your seat and fighting off the flight attendants and security, or walking into the cockpit and flying yourself to your destination.
They had established procedures in Hawaii very similar to Chicago with very little wiggle room for local management down to threatening police with handcuffs if he didn't move from his seat.
I’d rather keep my teeth & pass on the money. You go ahead.
Sometimes you just never know.
Airlines are so stretched, in terms of employees, that when an employee goes sick, the airlines have to hotshot employees wherever they can.
The main failing for the airline was that they didn’t have designated seating for employees who are being hotshotted. If every plane had a certain number of seats reserved for employees, up to the entire plane if need be, in emergency situations, then the people unfortunate enough to have those seats can be bumped before they get on the plane.
If United had that, they wouldn’t have had a problem because you’d be agreeing to that in the event that they had to send somebody to fill a position on another flight.
’I grab the nearest Vietnamese guy’
United was a little more boneheaded than that. They grabbed a Chinese guy who had lived in Vietnam.
Nothing like getting a country as big as China mad at you. Not smart at all.
FReepers can argue this until the cows come home.
His face was splattered all over the media with bleeding ears and mouth. His crime was getting on board a flight and not wanting to leave.
UAL just coughed up 20mil of its bile. Sorry
I beg to differ meetthenewboss. Let’s take it to court.
That’s why planes should have designated seating for personal from the start, before everybody boards.
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