Nope,not a physician...I was an ER administrator for years at a large,world renowned,hospital.I saw enough while there to allow me to write a book.
What would be your reaction to dragging a person with facial injuries and a possible concussion without stabilizing his neck?
OK,we've established that I'm not a physician.I'm also not a lawyer.However,I would think that the standards of conduct for a "civilian" would be a lot different than for a physician/nurse/EMT.Surely his lawyers would demand that he shouldn't have been moved but given what I've seen/heard/read I,as a juror,would reject such a claim.
Bottom line....unless I'm missing something very,*very* important here (possible but highly unlikely) my attitude is that even if United violated a contractual agreement....company policy...or even Federal law I wouldn't award this guy (or his ambulance chaser lawyers) a nickel simply because his behavior was so beyond the pale that he has nobody to blame but himself for his injuries.
In that *very* same situation *I* would have calmly and quietly walked off that plane when ordered to do so....and would not have returned after having left.But the next morning I very probably would have contacted a lawyer to see what legal recourse,if any,I might have against the players involved.
That's what rational people would do.OTOH,the typical convicted felon who illegally provides narcotics to his boyfriend would probably handle it just the way this clown did.