luv2fly1st

This is really bad karma....
On UA 98 traveling in J, I observed that several FAs were almost running up and down the aisles fast enough to create a "whoosh" every time they passed my seat.
Mid-flight fast asleep in 10A on a 789, I was jarred awake by a sharp pain on my right leg.
The FA who bumped my leg turned around to apologize and carried on towards the front.
When woke up a hour later, I realized my shin had a 2" cut that was still bleeding, the leg was severely swollen and my glasses were missing.
I spoke to my cabin's FA, showed her the cut and asked for the lead FA to identify which crew member hit my right leg.
It turned out that it was the lead FA herself who hit my right leg and jammed it against the metal divider separating my footrest from the aisle.
She was very apologetic, wanted to page a doctor, and did file an incident report.
I had to ice my leg for the remaining 8 hours of flight.
I was asked by United to remain on board after landing while they debated whether a medical team should be called.
The glasses were later found bent and scratched and obviously had been stepped on.
NO, MY LEG WAS NOT extended into the aisle per the FA's own statement.
This happened the cabin lights had been dimmed for the night.
United then decided no medical team was going to be called on and asked to deplane on my own steam without any medical evaluation.
Of course they offered by 7500 miles.
So I now have a bruised right leg and a 2" cut and 7500 miles.
I would like helpful advice on what actions I could to take next and what (if any) comp I should ask from United.
Thanks in advance. Yes, it was an accident but I am the person who will suffer for at least a week.

jsloan

You should contact a personal injury attorney with experience in this area rather than relying on advice from FlyerTalk.

cfischer

I am sorry to hear you injured yourself. Hope that'll get better soon.

I cannot picture at all how any of that would have happened to be honest. How are glasses involved in this? How did you go back to sleep with such a serious injury? How was your leg not in the aisle but it got 'hit'? I just can't picture any of that ...

fumje

If you'll be satisfied with another hundred or so of ETC comp, write in to CS and express how aggrieved you are still. You can get the miles converted to ETC too.

From my read of your post though, that doesn't seem like it would be satisfactory to you. So if you want to spend a bit more time with it and pursue a serious claim, finding a personal injury attorney as jsloan suggested above is best.



I think the FA veered off line with the cart and wound up running into the pax space, hitting the edge of the IFE and the leg. The even-number seats are pretty exposed in that region. Going back to sleep after is surprising, but I suppose I can imagine it if in deep sleep at the time.

Clemson

Did you seek medical care afterwards? Are you having any medical issues as a result? People are telling you to consult a personal injury attorney, and that would be the way to go... if you had actual damages to claim against United. If you just want some miles or ETC, write/call in and complain. If you have legitimate issues, you should consult an attorney.

ani90

If making a claim i think best to stick to the incontrovertible facts of the injury and avoid distractions, embellishments or commentary. I dont think FAs running up and down the aisle (which is what FAs do) or the broken glasses has anything to do with the injury. Also, from a medical perspective it is almost impossible for a limb to be severely swollen within an hour of injury. If you stick to that claim it will be very easy to have a medical expert argue successfully that there was something already wrong with your leg before the injury happened and that the impact and distress you faced was because of this preexisting problem, as otherwise an injury of the sort described would not have had such effect.

WineCountryUA

So you leg was between the footrest and the aisle?
Was the seat in lieflat position?


The photo may or may not be helpful in your discussions with UA, it is 10A and purports to be 789. Google is your friend

Hope the injury heals quickly.

econ

With windowshades?

WineCountryUA

Good point

EWRFlyerNJ

This is the problem with the world today. No one did this on purpose. Every accident isn’t a personal injury lawsuit. Life isn’t about winning the lawsuit lottery. That lawsuit, for your tiny cut and no actual “suffering,” will just cost the rest of us when United pays you out. I just don’t understand the impulse to sue sue sue.

guv1976

If this were done on purpose, we'd be talking about a criminal prosecution, in addition to a civil suit. Injuries resulting from someone's negligence probably make up the lion's share of personal-injury lawsuits.

If the injuries here are relatively minor, there might be no point in bringing a lawsuit. But if the OP sustains medical bills (for an exam? stitches? a tetanus shot?) should he (or his insurer) have to bear that cost?

jsloan

I don’t disagree. That’s why I suggested that OP consult a personal injury attorney. Given that most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, they’re actually quite good at determining when a lawsuit is warranted and when it isn’t. If OP’s situation and injuries don’t rise to the level where a lawsuit makes sense, a competent attorney will say so.

luv2fly1st

The photo of the seat is correct.
the glasses were on the right armrest and I sleep on my left side.
i am not an expert in recollection what happens when I am in deep sleep as some you seem to be.

The FA, myself, and some of the responders are having difficulty understanding how it happened. Well, join the club.

Let’s examine the following HYPOTHETICAL scenario: (HYPOTHETICAL added for those of you who cannot see the obvious)
(It seems many Flyertalk responders would pick Option 5 based on the responses blaming the OP (me) for the injury I sustained.
ONLY one responder (ani190 - thank you!) correctly pointed out all I asked for in this Forum was helpful advice on HOW TO PROCEED NOT whether to litigate or not.
I don't think 7500 miles fair. Based on being a 16 year 1K flyer. who has been loyal to United for 35 years.

Sleeping PAX has knee bent so right ankle is protruding 3” into the aisle. Flight attendant clips ankle while walking swiftly up the aisle and jams it into the divider causing injury to PAX.

is this a:

1) PAX fault - sleeping passenger should know where his leg is?

2) FA fault - FA should not be walking swiftly when cabin is dark and can’t see welll

3) A little bit of both 1) and 2)

4) None of the above

5) FA should have amputated offending passengers leg!

My answer is 2.

I see tons of oversize PAX with their legs in the aisle in economy. In a darkened cabin, I make sure I don’t step on their feet on my way to the toilet.

Shouldn’t FA in a rush display the same caution?

ani90

We are getting a bit distracted by the issue of compensation though. The reason why it might cost all of us if United pays out is not because anyone sued them but rather because of the sloppiness, inattentiveness, incompetence or otherwise of their staff. Surely, anyone trained and working in an aircraft knows there are passengers sleeping in the seats that could possibly be injured and actions made to avoid them?

Whatever the circumstances with the OP - even if their two legs were both sticking in the aisle, they should not end up with a bleeding leg due to action of flight crew. I cannot imagine such ever happening on NH or SQ, for example, and if by chance it did it would not have been dismissed with a 7500 miles offer, and you find your way off the plane and take care of your leg yourself.

canadiancow

There are a lot of airlines I can't possibly see this happening on. One of those airlines is United, but in odd-numbered rows.

I once had a piece of a seat (on another airline) puncture my hand (it was a bit more complicated than this, but imagine a thin two-inch nail sticking out of the tray table folding mechanism). The crew helped me bandage it up, and was very apologetic. The airline took the seat out of service for the next flight, until it could be returned to a hub to be fixed.

I had to go to urgent care the next morning (missing work), get an x-ray, a TDAP shot, some antibiotic cream, etc. So it was not just "a scratch".

Overall, I was pretty happy with the airline's response, so I don't even think I wrote in a complaint. Stuff happens. If you react well, and it's minor, I'm likely to let it go.

But if their initial response had been "no this didn't happen" or "we're not going to help you", maybe I would have gone to a personal injury lawyer.

I'm not a doctor (or lawyer for that matter), but I have no idea how different people would react to a gash in their leg caused by blunt trauma, in a low pressure environment. Maybe it would swell up. Maybe not. But if it's causing you pain or hassle (like needing a cane for a week or two), and United is being dismissive, then I support the decision to consult with a lawyer.

For every story that gets posted to FT, I suspect there are hundreds of identical stories that don't get posted. If the seat design or crew behavior is causing physical harm, hopefully escalating this could effect change so that it happens to fewer people in the future.