A federal jury found American Airlines liable for failing to follow its own protocols to help a California chef who suffered two debilitating strokes during an international flight that left him in need of constant care and rehabilitation.
Jesus Plasencia was traveling on a dream vacation with his wife, Ana Maria Marcela Tavantzis, from Miami to Madrid in November 2021 when he suddenly experienced a “mini stroke” shortly before boarding, according to a complaint the couple filed in federal court in 2023.
The 67-year-old briefly lost the ability to speak or pick up basic objects like his phone, according to the complaint. His wife notified a flight attendant and the pilot, who dismissed her worries and “joked with Plasencia” before “[clearing] him for take-off,” according to the complaint.
American Airlines’ policy requires staff to alert medical personnel, which the pilot didn’t do, the suit states.
After take-off, Plasencia suffered a second, harsher stroke, which he had to sit through until the plane landed. He was quickly hospitalized in Spain, where he stayed for three weeks of treatment before returning to the US, according to the complaint.
The flight crew directed other passengers to monitor the ailing traveler after his second bout, but didn’t notify the pilot, who would usually have final say on whether to divert the flight, the couple alleged.
Plasencia still can’t speak or write and relies on “around-the-clock, in-home care and intensive rehabilitation,” according to court documents.
The couple argued that, if the crew had followed protocols, Plasencia could’ve had a better outcome.
After nearly four years of drawn-out court proceedings, a federal jury in San Jose ruled Thursday that American Airlines was liable for its employees’ disregard for company protocol during the ill-fated incident and had to fork over a staggering $9.6 million to the couple.
The airline was found liable under the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that governs air travel across countries.
Even so, the airline still opposed the ruling.
“The safety and well-being of our passengers is our highest priority. While we respect the jury’s decision, we disagree with the verdict and are currently evaluating next steps,” American Airlines wrote in a statement.
In 2017, American Airlines faced a similar lawsuit alleging it permitted a stroke victim to wander into oncoming traffic at JFK International Airport.
When boarding for her flight began, a 67-year-old woman grew “agitated” and appeared “distressed.” The airline contacted her son and asked him to pick her up, but allegedly failed to keep an eye on her.
She somehow “wandered away from the boarding-gate area, out of the terminal building, and into oncoming traffic,” according to the lawsuit, but was thankfully uninjured and later found safe but “shivering, confused and in obvious distress” on the curb flanked by police.