Family Sues American Airlines Over Peanut-Free Flight

[Bobblehead]

According to this article (http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallerg...pressreldec903), peanut allergies are either not increasing, the increase is statistically insignificant, or they are increasing but not as much as it would appear in the media coverage.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

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

Plus an apology to the parents and i suspect a settlement to end the suit.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

What the hell?
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.

Why should we cater to handicap people if we don't try to cater to someone with a fatal peanut allergy? It isn't their fault they were born with a peanut allergy but it could have potentially been 100% someones fault they are in a wheelchair.

What I am saying is, these kids were born with this deadly allergic reaction to peanuts and you are being as inconsiderate as possible, are you the same way with mentally ill/handicap/diseased people as well?

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

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.

From what I read, the ticket-salesperson told them it was peanut free. They called back and confirmed it was peanut free. The gate attendant was the THIRD confirmation they received. And they weren't looking for a peanut-free flight promise (can't control other passengers), just that the airline wouldn't serve peanuts to everyone when they had been promised otherwise.

What are the parents to do? They asked for something, were promised their request would be granted, confirmed it, and then the promise was broken.

The parents aren't suing because the airline refused to not serve peanuts.

The airline didn't need to make that promise, but they did need to keep it.

[burn_baby_burn]

I used to be skeptical of peanut allergies until I had a kid diagnosed with that allergy. Although my wife and I are very skeptical that she is actually allergic, we still treat it very seriously. She has been tested numerous times and the tests confirm that yes, she is allergic to nuts.

Things are not so bad. I wouldn't be worried about boarding a pane that served peanuts. Although I really can't remember the last time I was served peanuts on a plane. Its usually pretzels, which I figured was because of peanut allergies. Her school is nut free and was so well before she ever attended it. She can't eat ice cream anywhere since there is always an outside chance that it has nuts in it, with the exception of Chapman's which is peanut free. I check the ingredients on everything she eats to make double sure, she does as well.

We do have nuts and peanut butter in the house. It is kept away and out of reach, more as a precautionary measure since she is fully aware of the risk. Twice this year at the Saddle Dome she had to move from her seat to an empty seat because of people eating peanuts directly behind her seat. No big deal, it is our issue. Although I am getting more and more concerned about the risk posed to her at the Dome.

I understand the criticism that people here have for people with this sort of allergy. It must be coming more and more common in our society though. Look at all the food products that are now peanut free. I mentioned Chapman's ice cream, as well as Quaker Oats Bars, Mars bars, etc. etc. There must be a market for it. Why else would these food companies go through all the trouble of making these products if it wasn't in their best interest?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

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

No, the airline put the kids life in danger. One of their agents made a huge mistake and should have stood by the mistake. Instead, dispite the parents requests, the attendants said not serving peanuts would discriminate against other passengers. Guess the potential life a child is not as important as the rest of the passengers.

[Gozer]

[Mother] claims in a lawsuit that she was assured several times - from the day she booked the flight in February to the moment she walked through the terminal gate at Kennedy Airport - that peanuts would not be served. But, she said, flight attendants changed the plan without notice.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/su...,5213082.story

[photon]

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.

Sure they are, but the question is do they have the knowledge necessary to guarantee what I'm asking, or the authority to ensure that what I'm asking takes place?

If I was a parent with a kid like this where airborne peanut particles could kill my kid, there's no way I'd trust the words of a regular company drone.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Gozer

From what I read, the ticket-salesperson told them it was peanut free. They called back and confirmed it was peanut free. The gate attendant was the THIRD confirmation they received.

...

The airline didn't need to make that promise, but they did need to keep it.

Yeah then I think the parents have a case, they did as much as they reasonably should be expected to have to do to know the flight would be peanut free, though personally I still probably wouldn't have trusted my kid's life to the word of 3 different corporate drones.

[Dion]

Litigation against airlines over food allergies is not new ground, but few attempts have been successful.

Earlier this year, a federal court in New Jersey dismissed a similar claim made by a teenager who sued Continental Airlines under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

http://www.newsday.com/services/news...,4671328.story

[Azure]

I read something a while back about possibly being able to cure the allergy.

Can't remember where though.

[RougeUnderoos]

http://www.harpers.org/media/slidesh...-01/index.html

That's an interesting little article about this whole peanut hysteria.

Anyway, I'm allergic to cats. Does that give me the "civil right" to a guarantee that everybody on the next flight I take is wearing clean clothes and been thoroughly lint-brushed?

If you are so sensitive to peanuts and "peanut dust" that you can't go out in public without special considerations for the air you breath then I'm afraid it's time to brush up on Trivial Pursuit and and go live in a bubble.

MOOPS!

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

If you are so sensitive to peanuts and "peanut dust" that you can't go out in public without special considerations for the air you breath then I'm afraid it's time to brush up on Trivial Pursuit and and go live in a bubble.

MOOPS!

Same question to you as I asked the last person I quoted. Should this "too bad" attitude be applied to handicapped people as well?

Has it come to the point where you won't accept a very minor inconvenience to help someone not die?

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Same question to you as I asked the last person I quoted. Should this "too bad" attitude be applied to handicapped people as well?

Has it come to the point where you won't accept a very minor inconvenience to help someone not die?

######s take the short bus, lets do something like that... Make bubble kids eat in another room or go to a special bubble school. They can have soy and tofu to their weak little hearts content. They can pump the stuff they put in puffers through the air and then we can send the Asthma kids there too.













(and the award for most ignorant statement ever goes to...)

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Anyway, I'm allergic to cats. Does that give me the "civil right" to a guarantee that everybody on the next flight I take is wearing clean clothes and been thoroughly lint-brushed?

Nope, but again it's not a matter of what other passengers do, or even what airline policy is. If you explain your allergy to the airline, and they promise not to seat you next to someone who has a cat under their seat in carry-on baggage, and then they confirm at the gate that you are not seated beside anyone who has a cat, and then partway through the flight you realize that the little handbag next under the seat next to you is actually a pet carrier, I think you would be justifiably pissed at the airline. Pissed enough to sue? Well only if your allergy is potentially fatal.

[ken0042]

Here's my thing about accomodating people with peanut allergies- what are the people who have normal kids but are on a fixed income supposed to do? I know I can buy a gallon sized jar of peanut butter for about $10, and it will keep without spoiling for weeks or months.

Or what if you have a kid who is a fussy eater? Or like a buddy's kid- at age 7 she decided she wanted to be a vegitarian. Now you aren't allowed to make sure your kid is getting his proper serving of protien because somebody else is allergic?

I have to agree with those that suggest that the allergic kids can eat in another room. It's one thing to accomodate the weaker members of society, but a totally different thing to give them more rights than everybody else.

And before anybody goes off on me- I'm not saying that those who are handicapped shouldn't get special priveledges. Short busses for all that need them. But there is a vast different between somebody with a physical/mental disabillity and somebody who has envirnment issues.

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Well only if your allergy is potentially fatal.

Everything is potentially fatal.

I agree that the airline should have fulfilled their promise on this one. I wonder if these people held onto their correspondence with the airlines. If all of the conversations were verbal then I don't think they have much of a leg to stand on.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Azure

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

How is ostrisicing the kid going to help the problem? Should we become that self centered as a society that we can't accomidate someones health problems.

Imagine how the kid would feel eating alone in a classroom.

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

There are always going to be risks. You just hope that parents have enough sense to follow the schools orders.

[Flashpoint]

So, if I wanted to bring on a bag of peanuts from home, is the Airline supposed to deprive me of them because someone else asked for special treatment?

What if a person is hypoglycemic or whatever, and has an attack, and I pull out the peanuts to give to that person so they don't die? Who has the rights now?

Would anyone care if it was an adult saying "Deprive everyone on this flight of nuts because I have a medical condition" instead of it being a child?

The airline never should have said they could make the flight peanut free - because they couldn't. The gate agent will probably get canned for saying otherwise. The parents should wake up and realize the world isn't going to adapt to their son's condition - and it is futile to attempt to attempt to make it do so.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

I used to be skeptical of peanut allergies until I had a kid diagnosed with that allergy. Although my wife and I are very skeptical that she is actually allergic, we still treat it very seriously. She has been tested numerous times and the tests confirm that yes, she is allergic to nuts.

Is she allergic to nuts or peanuts? Peanuts aren't a nut.