Family Sues American Airlines Over Peanut-Free Flight

[mykalberta]

If all they have is the word of the gate agent, this wont fly. AA didnt serve peanuts in coach where the kid was sitting, the issue is first class roasted peanuts that was served - that is why the airborne dust is brought up.

Sorry, gate agent isnt the person you should be confirming the life of your kid with. They are there to simply check your ticket.

[photon]

Exactly, I don't see this as a case of society bending to the will of some kid, they asked beforehand, and the airline said yes then didn't follow through.

[J pold]

Originally Posted by Azure

When I was in school the kids who had peanut allergies had to eat in the classroom by themselves.

There is no way you could keep a bunch of 10 year olds from eating peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

They did when I went to school; everyone’s lunch was inspected before they went into the cafeteria

No peanuts, no peanut butter, no peanut products period

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

American Airlines put the child at an increased risk of a potentially fatal allergen attack and there are people here who are blaming the parents as well as oddly enough the child for having the allergy in the first place. It wasn't as though due dilligance wasn't taken on the part of the parents, they made their concern noted and were reassured that there wasn't going to be any peanuts on the flight, a promise which wasn't followed through with on the part of American Airlines. If they sue and win hopefully this will help ensure that someone doesn't go into anaphylactic shock and die on a flight.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Huh? You mean even though the kid was put into danger that had the potential to be fatal, there should be no lawsuit since nothing actually happened?

Because the stupid parents put their own kid in danger, and are now blaming everyone else for it.

One thing to keep in mind from the story. The promise was made by a gate agent. Somehow I doubt that the person who looks at your boarding pass has the authority to change the food selection already on a plane. Not to mention that if you are only bringing this up to a gate agent, it's way too late to change what is on the plane.

Even despite the sudden increase in peanut allergies, peanuts are still standard fare on airplanes. That is a fact. Very stupid parents put their very allergic son into a situation where he could have had a very bad reaction with little or no chance to get appropriate medical attention.

Sorry, but I'm not going to criticize a corporation for the apparent promise of one agent without authority, or for the massive idiocy of two parents who expect the world to change it's habits to suit them rather than for them to change their habits to suit their own child's needs.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Huh? You mean even though the kid was put into danger that had the potential to be fatal, there should be no lawsuit since nothing actually happened?

I agree. Both the parents and airline got off lucky this time.

[J pold]

I agree with most that the lawsuit is completely reasonable, because the airline said that there would be no peanuts and there was

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Azure

When I was in school the kids who had peanut allergies had to eat in the classroom by themselves.

There is no way you could keep a bunch of 10 year olds from eating peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

My girlfriends little brother isnt allowed to eat a PB&J sammich for lunch AT HOME since there is a bubble kid in his class.

That is complete crap imo.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

My girlfriends little brother isnt allowed to eat a PB&J sammich for lunch AT HOME since there is a bubble kid in his class.

That is complete crap imo.

What would be your solution to the problem?

[photon]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

One thing to keep in mind from the story. The promise was made by a gate agent.

That's what I get for not reading the article, yeah if they talked to the gate agent then yeah the parents are totally out of line.

I would say they are probably overstating their kid's allergy if they're willing to take that chance.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Dion

What would be your solution to the problem?

Make the kid with the allergy eat in the classroom. By himself.

What if someone sneaks a peanut butter sandwich into school and the kid with the allergy has a fatal attack?

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by J pold

I don’t know about the word common, this is a pure guess but I think it’s more than reasonable to say that no more than 10% of the general population has a peanut allergy and that’s being generous

Not common among the general population, I'm talking about common for food allergies.

[Dion]

Parents side of suit.

The lawsuit claims Ryahn's civil rights were violated and that the airline inflicted severe emotional distress on his mother. It cites the Air Carrier Access Act which protects disabled passengers.

Airlines position

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith declined to comment on the pending litigation or the incident, but he said the company's policy on peanut allergies is posted on its web site.

It reads: "American recognizes that some passengers are allergic to peanuts. Although we do not serve peanuts, we do serve other nut products and there may be trace elements of unspecified peanut ingredients, including peanut oils, in meal and snacks.

"We make no provisions to be peanut-free. Additionally, other customers may bring peanuts on board. Therefore, we cannot guarantee customers will not be exposed to peanuts during flight and strongly encourage customers to take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure."

http://cw11.trb.com/news/wpix-peanut...0,912100.story

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

One thing to keep in mind from the story. The promise was made by a gate agent. Somehow I doubt that the person who looks at your boarding pass has the authority to change the food selection already on a plane. Not to mention that if you are only bringing this up to a gate agent, it's way too late to change what is on the plane.

Not to mention if the parents were that concerned about the allergy, wouldn't they have tried to get information about what's on board BEFORE they bought their tickets?

Would they have thrown away their tickets if the GA said that peanuts would be on board?

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by Dion

What would be your solution to the problem?

Have them live in a biodome.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by photon

That's what I get for not reading the article, yeah if they talked to the gate agent then yeah the parents are totally out of line.

Is the gate agent for American Airlines not a front line company representative? The fact is, an employee promised something that they couldn't hold, the status of the employee doesn't really play a role here.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Dion

What would be your solution to the problem?

Segregated schools and a complete Peanut-Allergy Apartheid.

A social revolution is upon us. Make those peanut allergic fools take different buses, eat in different restaurants and go to different schools.

Hell, no schools at all for them. They should be relegated to a disposable serf class.

Its also a lot like chaos theory, somewhere, a random kid on the other side of the gym is going to die because of what I had for lunch. That kid is going to disappear one day, and I may never even notice. How will it affect my life? Who knows, but I can tell you how it will affect his life. Negatively. Thats how. So if he doesnt want his life negatively affected he had better take some drastic measures.

Its very Darwinian actually. Where are those people from other threads professing the pure logic and certainty of Darwinism? Do we as a society just let 'em die?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Dion

Parents side of suit.

The lawsuit claims Ryahn's civil rights were violated and that the airline inflicted severe emotional distress on his mother. It cites the Air Carrier Access Act which protects disabled passengers.

What the hell?

Since when did you have a civil right not to be exposed to peanuts?

The idiot lawyer behind this one is stretching the definition of disability beyond reason in this case as well. I would be rather interested to know, exactly, how this laywer/family believes the kid was discriminated against.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Is the gate agent for American Airlines not a front line company representative? The fact is, an employee promised something that they couldn't hold, the status of the employee doesn't really play a role here.

Indeed. And if I am AA, I fire that employee's ass right out the door.

Doesn't change the fact that the parents put their kid into a dangerous situation through their own negligence.

[Dion]

About 1 percent of the population, or more than 3 million Americans, is allergic to peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil and any food product or preparation that contains peanuts. It is estimated that 100 to 150 people die each year from this allergy.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20...FOOD/805270305