Lawsuit Claims Teen’s Death Tied to Faulty Equipment, Training of American Airlines Flight Crew
May 13 2024 - 11:15AM
Business Wire
Video of mother: ‘I want answers from American
Airlines’
The mother of a 14-year-old boy who died following a medical
emergency during an American Airlines flight in 2022 has filed a
lawsuit in federal court against the airline. The lawsuit alleges
the plane’s on-board defibrillator did not function properly and
the flight crew was not properly trained in its use, contributing
to his death.
Kevin Greenidge was returning from a summer vacation in Honduras
to New York City with his family when he lost consciousness and
became unresponsive shortly after takeoff.
According to the lawsuit, the flight crew was slow to respond
and struggled to turn on and operate the automated external
defibrillator, or AED, which failed to deliver an electrical shock
to restore Kevin’s heart rhythm.
The flight made an emergency landing in Cancun, and Kevin was
transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“After Kevin died, I never heard from American Airlines,” says
Melissa Arzu, Kevin’s mother. “It made me feel hopeless. I want
answers from American Airlines. I want American Airlines to take
full responsibility for Kevin's death. I never want this to happen
to a child or family again.”
A video interview with Ms. Arzu is available here.
“The loss of a child is truly unimaginable, and the facts of
this case are horrendous,” says Hannah Crowe, the attorney
representing Ms. Arzu. “Multiple eyewitnesses confirm that American
Airlines flight personnel were slow to respond and not able to
operate the AED machine, which appeared not to work.
“After Kevin died, the equipment went missing. Did someone at
American intentionally destroy it? Is it defective, but back out in
service? These are all really serious violations of the federal
laws that are in place to protect passengers,” she says.
A video interview with Ms. Crowe is available here.
Ms. Arzu originally filed her lawsuit last year in New York, but
the airline fought to transfer the case to Fort Worth, where the
airline is headquartered. Ms. Crowe, with the law firm of Burns
Charest LLP, was retained following the change of venue.
“Texas juries are tough, but they're fair. Our jury is going to
hear what happened to Kevin,” says Ms. Crowe. “They are going to
hear the facts of this case, and they are going to be shocked that
American Airlines would put its passengers, especially children, in
this kind of danger.”
Defibrillators have been federally required on all passenger
aircraft since 2004, and Federal Aviation Administration
regulations require that AEDs be properly labeled, regularly
inspected for readiness to perform during emergencies, and function
properly according to their manufacturer's recommendations.
The case is Melissa Suzette Arzu, Individually and as the
Administrator of the Estate of Kevin Greenidge, Deceased v.
American Airlines, Inc., Case No. 4:24-cv-00433-P, filed in the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth
Division.
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