Originally Posted by
ernestnywang
I met a customer care manager upon arriving LAX, and he agreed that AA would reimburse me the repair cost upon presenting the invoice from HP. My biggest mistake was I did not obtain this in writing from him. I wanted to hurry and get to TBIT for my CX FLT. I truly regret trusting this manager too much.
Just my hunch: The customer care guy told you something to placate you and get you out of his face, probably knowing that nothing would happen. Had you asked for his promise in writing, he would have stalled knowing that you needed to get to your next flight and didn't have hours to wait around for him to (1) find paper (2) find a pen (3) find a supervisor (4) find another supervisor...
They always announce "Be careful when opening the overhead bins, because content may shift around during flight."
In other words:
a) something can fall out and hurt you.
b) something in the bin can fall out and get damaged.
The latches on the bins are not foolproof. Sometimes, yes, they come loose and open spontaneously during flight. I've seen it a lot.
At any rate, way, they are not liable since they announced, ahead of time, "Be careful when opening the overhead bins..."
You are welcome to pursue compensation, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Just buy the new computer and go on with your life.