Originally Posted by
waxearwings
I relate all this to refute the notion that if a plane does not immediately divert after a medical emergency, the reason must be due to financial considerations from the airline. You may not be privy to important factors, like the patient's condition, the proximity of diverting airports to quality medical facilities, time left in flight etc...
Notwithstanding the story in the post preceeding this one, I have to think that airlines are smart enough to recognize that if a doctor says they need to divert for a patient, if they fail to follow that advice they're opening themselves up to a huge potential liability lawsuit if something bad does indeed happen. While the costs associated with a diversion aren't cheap, they're probably chump change to the costs of paying out a lawsuit.