Delta Air Lines has been sued by a passenger's family following an incident in July 2021 which saw a wheelchair user injured during boarding. The passenger later died and the carrier is now being sued for negligence and wrongful death.

Warning: This story might be distressing for some readers.

Different boarding procedure

According to a CBS News report, the traveler in question was Ricardo Lopez Rangel. He was flying with his family between Los Angeles and Oahu, Hawaii, on the morning of July 13th. Rangel used a wheelchair and informed Delta of the same, who had a separate boarding procedure.

The suit states that Delta employees told Rangel that he would be using a separate entrance to the aircraft. This can happen for several reasons, such as a lack of a jetbridge or on certain aircraft types. His wife requested that her mother help Rangel with boarding, but the airport staff insisted that no one else could be there.

For boarding, Delta reportedly used a steep ramp to push the wheelchair up and into the aircraft. During this process, Rangel's wheelchair fell backward, causing him to hit the ground and be severely hurt. He suffered skull fractures, lacerations, and many more issues due to the fall.

Catastrophically, his health continued to deteriorate and he passed away on August 26th, a month and a half later.

Demanding damages

Seven months onward, Rangel's wife, Elva Lopez Navarro, and three children have sued Delta Air Lines for wrongful death and negligence. Los Angeles World Airports, the operators of LAX, have been added as co-defendants, likely as well since they operate much of the ground logistics as well.

The family argues that the ramp was far too heavily inclined to be safely used by wheelchair passengers, creating dangerous conditions. Additionally, the suit also states that Delta and the airport failed to hire adequately trained staff and supervise them during their duties.

In a statement to CBS, a Delta spokeswoman said the carrier has not been notified of the suit and does not have a comment. Now, the legal challenge will pass through several stages, during which time we will find out more key details about what went wrong and if Delta or LAX is liable for damages.

Difficult experience

While the current suit is an extreme example of what can go wrong when flying with a wheelchair, the entire experience is not comfortable for differently-abled passengers. One estimate from 2019 notes that roughly 29 wheelchairs are damaged in the US every day, or roughly 2% of all those carried annually. Aside from handling, passengers struggle with using the washroom on aircraft and overall throughout the flight.

Regardless of the outcome of this suit, it is clear that airlines need to do better to ensure all can fly comfortably.

Source: CBS News