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.”
I wonder if United pays extra for Nurse Ratched-type stewardesses.
United didn't batter Dao, and I have yet to hear of ANY court concluding that calling the cops is tantamount to calling a physical beat down.
Assume for the sake of argument that United was wrong in calling the cops, that Dao has a legally enforceable right to a seat on that flight, based on whatever rationale you want ("he boarded" so they can't renege" seems a popular theme).
That puts United in a breach of contract situation, even outside of Rule 25 involuntary bump. And FWIW, some jurisdictions allow people who have been involuntarily bumped to reject the airlines offer, and sue instead. It has been done, successfully.
But it does not put UAL in the position of beating Dao.
Even if this guy took off his clothes and started running around the airplane, that’s not how you remove him. You grab him, cuff him, and frog-march him out of the plane.
You DON’T slam his head into an armrest hard enough to cause a concussion, knock out teeth, and require reconstructive surgery on the sinus cavities.
Furthermore, this guy didn’t “cause” anything. United did, by trying to kick paying passengers off a plane. A customer has the right to protest a company’s business practice, without having his head bashed in.
And since these four extra people were United employees, they didn’t need to take up passengers’ seats, anyway. Keep them with the other United staff in the employee section of the plane. Problem solved.
Oh wow, I didn’t know that. Thanks, that’s good news. Knowing him though he will now probably procrastinate till Tuesday now LOL!
I have not filed yet but I use TaxAct. Easter afternoon is my Tax day this year. BTW, I charge 35bucks an hour.
I must Itemize. If he doesn’t need that then use the free service.
That was a poor analogy. Dao alone was targeted, not the entire plane. The pilot was never involved.
United wrote their own Terms of Service. According to their own rules, they had no right to eject Dao. If that’s problematic, then they need to thoroughly rework their ToS.
As if the 250 million haircut their stock took wasn’t bad enough.They are now the airline of last resort.
1. You go to a car dealership, sign a contract to purchase a car, put down a deposit on the vehicle with the VIN# ABC-123.
2. The dealer agrees that the car will be prepped and ready for you to pick it up a week later.
3. You show up a week later, only to find that the dealer has sold the car to someone else, and it's sitting out there in the parking lot waiting to be picked up. Maybe another buyer offered more money. Maybe the owner of the dealership sold it to a golfing buddy.
4. The dealer offers you a similar car with the VIN# XYZ-789. But you are adamant that this isn't good enough, and you have a binding contract in your hand.
If this were to happen you'd have plenty of recourse. You'd be entitled to your money back, either in cash or as a credit for another purchase. Maybe the contract contained a provision that said the dealer has to give you a full refund plus an extra $500 for your trouble. Whatever it is, you're either leaving the dealership made whole or you have plenty of legal avenues you can pursue.
One option you absolutely do not have is to climb behind the wheel of car #ABC-123 in the parking lot and tell the dealership staff that you're not leaving unless they give you the keys and let you drive the car away.
The management of the dealership will call the police to deal with you, and the police will deal with you as they see fit -- even if they have to drag your ass out of the car and injure you in the process.
Dr. Dao learned that he wasn't going to be driving the car off the lot that day.
The four crew members worked for Republic Express not UA.
Lots of info on your questions both on FR and on the Net.
With regards to how much Dao will make will be answered at either some settlment
date or court date. However I would wager it will be enough that he’ll get out of
his one day a week doctor job. JMO.
That maybe where it got a little sticky.
United personnel working the gate, Republic working the plane and it was a Republic crew that demanded to be put on the full aircraft when it was already loaded.
Chicago is the United headquarters, but would they have a procedure for putting Republic personnel in a United Chevy Suburban and drive them to Louisville? Or put them in a United corporate Kingair?
Yes they are, or not.
Sometimes, when you confront the bully they become your best friend.
You forgot one. The Dealership beat the crap out of you.
The principle is the same, whether it’s one person or more.
So let’s say we land in Kansas City, and the pilot comes on the intercom and says, “Fantasywriter has to get off the plane. After Fantasywriter gets off, the rest of us are going on to NYC.”
Are they breaching the terms of your ticket? You bet.
Do you have the right to physically stay on the airplane after being ordered by the owner to get off? No you do not. If necessary, security will drag your ass off the plane, and it is perfectly legal. You can sue them for your monetary damages for failing to fulfill the contractual terms of your ticket by not transporting you all the way to NYC.
It doesn’t matter how much he makes… He’s going to have to pay it all to Yoko Ono for false impersonation...
United’s management is incredibly stupid. As I said before, it finally caught up with them.
Dao ought to demand his own private United 757 with flight crew on-demand 24/7/365 anywhere in the world for the remainder of his natural life.
It's a 4 1/2 hour drive from Chicago to Louisville. Why weren't those employees told to drive? The airline cancels and delays flights all the time. They could have done it with the upcoming flight.
Another question I'd like an answer to, is who is the person that called the police?
Conditioned to being sheep explains that.
Your excuse is something entirely different and likely best explored by mental health professionals.
He get's 10mil just for the concussion, add 2mil because the notoriety has made it impossible for him to work at his job or obtain a new one. Add another 20mil in punitive damages so United or any other airline will think twice about how they handle these situations. I would probably add 10mil because he's Asian and UAL's inherent racism failed to take into account the cultural components that led up to this.
Oh, and that's the no trial settlement. In court the concussion brings 30mil and punitive damages are probably around 100mil.
Hey is there am over/under on this in Vegas?
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