The United passenger who was dragged off a plane at O’Hare International Airport suffered a concussion and a broken nose, and lost two teeth, his attorney said Thursday.
Dr. David Dao will need reconstructive surgery, attorney Thomas Demetrio said at a news conference Thursday morning. Dao was released from the hospital late Wednesday night, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
He had refused to leave the United Express flight to Louisville, Ky., so airport police were summoned. He was subsequently dragged, bloodied, down the aisle. A video posted online showed passengers yelling their disapproval.
Being dragged out of the plane was more “horrifying” for Dr. Dao than leaving war-torn Vietnam on a boat back in 1975, Demetrio said.
Dao is now in a “secure location,” Demetrio said, and then he implored the throng of reporters: “Our plea is please leave the guy alone. Let him go.”
As for when the doctor might return to Kentucky, and how, Demetrio said his client “has no interest in ever seeing an airplane.”
Dao had already boarded the United Express flight on Sunday night, according to United. The plane was full, and four seats were needed for a flight crew that had to get to Kentucky to operate a later flight.
Despite offers of compensation, the airline could not find four volunteers, so four people were selected at random. Three then complied, but Dao refused.
Demetrio said he has been deluged with “hundreds — literally, hundreds — of tales of woe, of mistreatment. … I have concluded the following: That for a long time, airlines, United in particular, have bullied us.”
Demetrio said passengers want simply to be treated with: “Fairness, respect, dignity. Not a big deal. This seems so simple. Forget the law for a minute.”
“… Just treat us with respect. Make us feel like you really care.”
Demetrio added:
“Will there be a lawsuit? Yeah, probably.”
United CEO Oscar Munoz, after initially defending his employees, issued a more contrite statement on Tuesday, then appeared on ABC News Wednesday morning to say the video of Dao being dragged off the plane filled him with “shame.”
He promised a full internal review and to release the results by the end of April.
Demetrio wasn’t impressed.
“I thought it was staged,” Demetrio said of Munoz’ appearance. “They’ve been taking a beating, and he was told, ‘Get out there. … Sound like you mean it.’”
But sincere? “I didn’t get that feeling.”
He also disputed Munoz’ assertion that the airline had has tried to get in touch with Dao.
“They have not reached out,” Demetrio said. “I’m saying he [Munoz] misspoke.”
Dao’s daughter, Crystal Pepper, also spoke at the news conference, telling reporters: “It has been a very difficult time for our entire family, especially my dad.”
Demetrio said United’s actions violated the law.
“If you’re going to eject a passenger, under no circumstances can it be done with unreasonable force or violence,” Demetrio said. “That’s the law.”
If it is used, “the common carrier is responsible.”
Common carriers “have the highest duty of care,” he said, but he later added that “the city of Chicago is also responsible. That will be sorted out.”
It was police officers from the Chicago Department of Aviation who took Dao off the plane; three of them have been placed on leave.
Given the irritation of travelers who had called him this week, Demetrio said, it has became clear that Dao’s plight had touched a nerve.
Of his client, Demetrio said: “I hope he becomes a poster child for all of us. Someone’s got to.”
–Chicago Sun-Times