A newspaper has reported that a German passenger filed a lawsuit against United Airlines upon claiming to have swallowed a metal object that was hidden in his meal during flight and as a result sustained severe personal injuries. At the end of July, Bastian Bromse filed a personal injury action under Article 17 (of the Montreal Convention) in an Illinois district court.
The carrier is liable for the damages caused by the injury of passengers during international air travel journeys, subject to a maximum compensation of around $170,000 according to Article 17.
As per the filings in court, this occurred on May 27, 2023, on United Airlines flight UA234 to Berlin from Washington Dulles, which took off at about 5:45 pm. The passenger ingested a wire piece that was concealed within his meal, supplied by the airline, after which the wire lodged inside his throat, resulting in severe injuries. A medical procedure was needed to take the wire out, causing immense pain, and discomfort.
It faults Bromse for arguing his injuries have resulted from an unusual event where he wasn’t at fault. Moreover, it was not something one would normally expect while boarding a flight. The airline authorities refused to comment on the issue, citing pending litigation.
The inflight catering services of United Airlines were subjected to severe criticism before as well, and another lawsuit had previously been filed stating the airlines’ negligence. In fact, a family sued the carrier in February following an incident where their daughter, aged six, Attained severe scars after a hot meal fell on her lap during a twelve-hour flight to Newark from Tel Aviv in July 2022. The bi-fold tray table was defective, which resulted in the incident.
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In another incident, a United Airlines passenger mentioned having found a maggot in the meal served on a Sydney-Los Angeles flight. The passenger reportedly took several bites of his pasta dish before finding the larva. United Airlines has credentialed 7500 MileagePlus to the passenger and issued a $150 credit on a flight.