Flight attendants on board a JetBlue flight to the Bahamas reportedly refused to provide first aid to a passenger whose foot became caught in a seatbelt that hung down into the aisle, causing her to fall to the ground and break her ankle.
Maria Mistretta of Suffolk, New York, is now suing the airline following the July 23, 2022 incident, which also left her with deep vein thrombosis – a potentially fatal condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, typically located in the leg.
Late last month, Maria and her husband Salvatore Mistretta filed a lawsuit against JetBlue in a Queens, New York, court, demanding compensation from JetBlue under the Montreal Convention, which awards injured passengers up to the equivalent of $170,000 in damages.
The Mistrettas claim that during the flight from New York to the Bahamas, Maria got up from her seat and stepped into the aisle, but on her next step her foot got caught in a seatbelt that was dangling in the aisle.
Maria was thrown backwards and fell to the ground. As she fell to the ground, she heard her ankle crack as it twisted in the seatbelt.
An off-duty nurse who happened to be on board the flight rushed to Maria’s aid and checked to make sure she was not suffering from a concussion while her husband and another compassionate passenger worked to free her foot and place her back in her seat.
At this point, the Mistrettas asked the flight crew for a first aid kit and some ice to put on her swollen ankle, but the crew reportedly refused to help her because everything had already been packed for the plane’s arrival in the Bahamas.
Upon arrival, the Mistrettas had to wait until all other passengers had disembarked, and a wheelchair that was supposed to help Maria was reportedly broken.
JetBlue officials in the Bahamas reportedly advised against calling an ambulance to take the Mistrettas to a nearby hospital and instead advised them to return to New York immediately to seek help in the United States.
To achieve this, according to court documents, the Mistrettas were forced to book a return flight the same day, navigating immigration, customs and the airport themselves while Maria sat in the same broken wheelchair.
When they finally boarded their return flight, the Mistrettas again requested ice and a first aid kit from the flight attendants. Strangely, the crew again refused this request because it would require writing an accident report and since the accident did not happen on their flight, they did not want to write a report.
When they finally returned to New York late that same evening, they went to the emergency room, where Maria was diagnosed with a broken ankle, deep vein thrombosis, and back pain exacerbated by an old injury.
According to Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, airlines are liable for injuries sustained by passengers during an international flight, including boarding and disembarkation.
Airlines have few defenses in the event of a claim under the Montreal Convention. However, they can avoid liability if they can prove that the accident was the result of the passenger’s negligence. In some cases, they can also shift the blame to another passenger.
In addition to their claim under the Montreal Convention, the Mistrettas are suing JetBlue for infliction of emotional distress.
Matt’s opinion
There are some pretty serious allegations made in this lawsuit and it will be interesting to see how JetBlue responds to the allegations that the flight crew failed to provide first aid to Maria Mistretta.
At first glance, there is no reason why first aid could not have been administered and the excuse that these items were packed in preparation for landing seems quite untenable.
As for the main reason for claiming that JetBlue was liable for a dangling seatbelt, it will certainly be worth watching how a court deals with it – if the lawsuit even gets that far.
In most cases, airlines can settle these cases out of court, which is why it is quite difficult to obtain legal redress.
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