jsch3

A similar incident happened to me.

In early January I was transferring between JFK's T4 and T2 on Delta's shuttle bus. As I boarded, the driver shut the doors on me. Passengers yelled for him to release the door which he did. It was a fairly substantial hit which caused some bruising not to mention a dirty suit from where the doors struck me. I am in excellent shape for a 64 year old but I could only imagine what would have happened to someone a bit more frail. The bus driver only looked at me as I sat down and did not offer any kind of apology.

The next day, I contacted Delta about this. They responded by thanking me for letting them know about my experience along with the promise to contact airport management for training purposes. There was no apology offered.

I thought about this for a week or so and was still upset there was not even a regret or apology. I wrote to them again. Never did I ask for points or other compensation.

Their second response was much the same as the first; still no apology but they did give me 7,500 miles. I have not responded yet to this yet but am inclined to tell them to keep their miles.

kop84

that is why I wanted to see a picture of the damage...without looking at it, it's impossible to say if it's worth pursing further. Because if it's severe scar that will impact OP's life (not sure how, but anything is possible) then yes try to pursue those damages as far as possible, and go to court if necessary. But given that the OP didn't think that much of it until it was a scar, I can't imagine it's that large/impactful enough that a court would seriously entertain OP's case.

mnbp

Shouldn't any passenger injury on board a flight be reported to the FAA?

Often1

Don't expect any operating business in the US to offer a direct apology where there is potential liability. DL has no idea whether OP has a minor scratch or had a leg amputated and certainly has not evaluated whether there is any liability in a meaningful way. Same for hotels and shuttle busses.

While OP's acceptance of the 10K miles without a release is not a formal release, it makes it close to impossible to get DL's attention without a lawsuit and the chances that a judge will find that OP thought that the miles were sufficient so any action ought to be dismissed.

Whining to customer service is what you do when the hot towels are not hot enough. A bad way to see meaningful payment if you suffer real damages.

jdrtravel

Those who are saying that acceptance of 10K miles means the case is closed must be smoking something. Have you not noticed the lawsuit culture of our country? It ain't over til it's over. The bigger issue for OP is if OP did not file any formal report with any airline or airport authority right after deplaning.

spamkiller

You might want to talk to the credit card company you bought the ticket with. You may be covered for the injuries. If it is an international flight, you want to file a report with the airline because the Montreal convention places strict limits on reporting time.

Allan38103

We're talking about "injuries" in general here. The overall principle here is "If you break something, you fix it at your expense.. If you damage something of mine, you repair or replace it at your expense. If you injure me, you make me well at your expense." The level of compensation is directly related to the degree of injury.

Sometimes parties agree on this among themselves. Sometimes the insurance for one side or he other comes into play. Sometimes the parties agree that it's just not that big of a deal. When parties cannot agree on either the responsibility for the injury, level of injury, or the appropriate compensation, that's what courts are for.

We hardly have enough of the story for a casual reader of FT to make a determination on what's right, but that won't stop some from spouting off anyway.

Danwriter

Unless, of course, the OP is female. Do we know the gender here, or are we just assuming? A scar on a woman's leg might be the equivalent of a facial scar for a male.

zeebanker

This I find troubling. It sounds like you were not really expecting some sort of "compensation" but just common courtesy. It appears that as a society, we have become concerned about apologizing, whether it be out of a fear for being held liable, for fear of escalation or retaliation, fear of public shaming, fear of litigation, fear of..... It is unfortunate that civility and common sense are victims of twin attitudes of "what trouble will I get into if I deviate from the standard operating procedure or use my own initiative" on the one hand, and "what is the maximum compensation that I can get for any infraction irrespective of how significant it is?" on the other.

Anyhoo, not to turn this into an OMNI post, but I suspect that at some level, just like this passenger, the OP is upset that her/his cut was not acknowledged or an apology / assistance (bandaid) offered. Without knowing what really happened (extent of the injury or the circumstances that caused it), all I can say is that if the cut is truly significant, I would pursue it formally; if not, then chalk it up to the times we live in and move on. Just my $0.02.

brobin

From the OP's description the leg is still firmly attached and fully healed and the only remaining issue is the scar. Show it to a PI lawyer. If they won't take it on contingency then it's probably not serious and with proper attention will probably fade in time. If they take it they'll work out a settlement with DL or their insurance carrier and keep 40-50% but the OP won't have to deal with it. Once an attorney is involved they'll pay something just to get rid it. Many years ago a woman once hit my car and her insurance company promptly paid for the repairs and then started calling monthly to ask me to sign a release. I told them I had some soreness and I wouldn't sign till I was sure it went away. After about 6 months they offered me $3K to just sign the form without my ever having asked for a dime. $3K can buy a lot of aspirin so I took it.

Howste

I don't know the OP's gender, but I believe in equal rights.

I still don't have anywhere near enough information to make a judgment call regardless of gender or occupation.

james318

I think unless the OP is dependent on the physical perfection of their legs, this really is a bizarre compensation request to me.

ijgordon

Yes. (And frankly I'm surprised they gave anything in response to an injury without lawyers involved).

It makes it close to impossible to get any further attention from Delta's customer service department. You also don't need a "lawsuit" to get their attention. Contact from a lawyer will get the ball rolling just fine.
I'm sure Delta will try to argue that (again, well before this ever gets in front of a judge), and the OP's lawyer will push back. But yes, I agree it ultimately will not be relevant, except maybe to the extent the value of the miles are considered with any final settlement/judgment.

lbcnu

I find it extremely hard to believe that any PI lawyer would take on a case of a cut involving no more treatment than a bandaid. Unless at least 6 months has elapsed since the OP's cut, any evident scarring is likely to be temporary.

kop84

No one is taking it without a hefty upfront retainer!

But if OP didn't think that much of it until it scarred, pending photographic evidence, I cannot imagine it's going to be such a wound/scar that would scare DL's legal department into a quick settlement.

OP may get a judgment in court, but I'd have to imagine between legal and filing fees, OP's lawyer would be the only true winner.