Lawsuit filed against Frontier Airlines for losing, damaging disabled woman’s custom wheelchair

Attorneys to call on the Federal Aviation Administration to change federal guidelines and make air travel more accessible for all people

CHICAGO (November 14, 2023) – The Chicago law firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a disabled woman whose custom wheelchair was inexplicably lost by Frontier Airlines, and then returned to her damaged after several days.  The story of her harrowing experience was first reported in local and national media shortly after it occurred.[1]

Shannon O’Brien, 35, has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a disease that affects motor neurons in the spinal cord and severely limits her movements.  Because Shannon has SMA, she is unable to walk or hold her head and upper body straight while in a seated position.

To meet her most basic needs at work and at home, Shannon relies upon a highly customized mechanized wheelchair as her de facto “legs” that holds her upper body and head in place and allows her to move freely, drive, go to work and engage in the activities of her daily life.  Shannon cannot eat safely without her head being supported in her wheelchair due to positional swallowing issues.  As is the experience with most individuals with SMA, Shannon’s wheelchair provides her with independence that would otherwise not be possible.  The only times in her life that Shannon is not in her wheelchair is when she is sleeping, showering, or on an airplane traveling.

On November 26, 2022, Shannon was a passenger on Frontier Airlines Flight 81 from Punta Cana International Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.  Prior to her flight, Shannon was required to check her wheelchair and have it placed in the plane’s cargo hold, a practice that historically has resulted in countless instances of lost and/or damaged mechanized wheelchairs.

After a mid-flight hydraulic malfunction, the plane made an emergency landing in Orlando where Shannon was kept on the plane waiting for her wheelchair to arrive.  After waiting over an hour, Shannon was told that her wheelchair could not be retrieved due to an issue with the cargo door.   Adding to her frustration and the physical pain she was experiencing being out of her wheelchair, one of the Frontier workers added to her stress with a humiliating announcement at the baggage carousel to her fellow passengers that because the passenger in the wheelchair hadn’t deboarded the plane, their luggage would be delayed.

After being carried off the plane and put into an uncomfortable and unsafe transport chair, Shannon was in limbo during a 12-hour delay in Orlando where she was denied use of her wheelchair.  Shannon was prevented from flying home until the following day, still without her wheelchair and in pain after having been deprived of the physical support that her wheelchair provided.

The next day, Shannon was told by Frontier Airlines that her wheelchair would be with her on her flight back to Chicago.  But when the plane landed, Shannon learned that the wheelchair was still in Orlando.  Shannon was taken home by relatives and remained bedridden while she waited for her wheelchair to arrive.  The wheelchair was ultimately delivered in a damaged state on November 28, approximately 52 hours after it first went missing.

On November 14, 2023, Shannon O’Brien filed a lawsuit through her attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C., against Frontier Airlines, alleging physical and emotional injuries as a result of Frontier’s negligence.

“What Frontier Airlines did to Shannon is a regrettable continuum of a long list of disabled persons who have been treated horribly by the airline industry.[2] For people like Shannon, a mechanized wheelchair is what allows them to live independently, as they have every right to do.  A person’s exclusive means of mobility is not something that should be thrown into a luggage compartment in the name of maximizing profit.  This lawsuit is the first step in a multi-pronged effort to change how airlines behave,” Plaintiff’s attorney Lance D. Northcutt of the Illinois law firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard said. “We will do everything in our power, beginning with this lawsuit, to advocate for those with disabilities until we can get to the point where airlines serve all human beings, regardless of physical ability.”

During a press conference on Wednesday, November 15 at 9:30 a.m. at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard (161 N. Clark St. Suite 4700, Chicago, IL 60601), Ms. O’Brien and her attorneys will discuss the lawsuit and the greater need to make air travel more accessible for all people.

The press conference will be streamed live at this link for those who are unable to attend in person: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Odx_hwd1SkmOoODgS29EOA

For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.

 

[1] https://wgntv.com/news/physically-disabled-woman-stranded-in-bed-until-airline-returns-lost-custom-wheelchair/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20chair%20never%20came%20over,%2C%E2%80%9D%20O’Brien%20said.&text=The%20next%20day%2C%20O’Brien,it%20was%20still%20in%20Orlando

https://fox59.com/news/national-world/woman-stranded-in-bed-until-airlines-delayed-return-of-lost-wheelchair/

https://news.yahoo.com/disabled-woman-bedridden-until-airline-031400536.html

[2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/08/05/american-airlines-damaged-wheelchair/70519401007/

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Poor-handling-wheelchairs-continues-plague-airlines

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/06/07/wheelchair-scooter-damage-airplane-flights/

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2023/05/09/spirit-airlines-loses-ypsilanti-mans-wheelchair-goes-viral-on-reddit/70195568007/

https://globalnews.ca/news/9417590/air-canada-lost-wheelchair-broken-replacement/

https://www.newsweek.com/customer-says-american-airlines-lost-wheelchair-stranded-hours-1744685

https://travelnoire.com/american-airlines-loses-passengers-22k-wheelchair

https://www.businessinsider.com/disability-activist-died-after-united-airlines-destroyed-30k-wheelchair-2021-11

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-woman-says-delta-airlines-lost-then-damaged-her-specialized-30000-wheelchair/3798335/

 

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