{"id":245263,"date":"2023-12-04T19:05:41","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T19:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/?p=245263"},"modified":"2023-12-04T19:27:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T19:27:43","slug":"wheels-of-injustice-lawsuit-exposes-airlines-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/blog\/wheels-of-injustice-lawsuit-exposes-airlines-damage","title":{"rendered":"Wheels of Injustice: Lawsuit Exposes Airline\u2019s Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shannon O\u2019Brien, who has spinal muscular atrophy, filed a lawsuit against Frontier Airlines to make air travel more accessible for everyone.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: In a recent lawsuit against Frontier Airlines, Shannon O’Brien exposes the plight of wheelchair users during air travel. O’Brien, who has spinal muscular atrophy, faced a 12-hour ordeal after her wheelchair was lost and damaged. The lawsuit not only seeks damages but also draws attention to the systemic issue of mishandled wheelchairs, affecting over 7,600 individuals as of August 2023. This legal action aims to prompt change for those with mobility challenges, addressing the broader concerns surrounding accessibility in air travel.<\/em><\/p>\n

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For Shannon O\u2019Brien, her wheelchair is essential to her independence.<\/p>\n

She filed a lawsuit last month against Frontier Airlines for temporarily losing her custom mechanized wheelchair, and then returning it damaged days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wheelchair is my legs. Without that, I can\u2019t be independent or successful. The only times that I\u2019m out of my chair are when I\u2019m sleeping, showering or on an airplane,\u201d Shannon, 35, said recently at a news conference. \u201cThere\u2019s no other form of transportation where I\u2019m required to be removed from my chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shannon has spinal muscular atrophy, which affects motor neurons in the spinal cord and limits her mobility. She is unable to walk or hold her head and upper body straight while sitting without the support of her wheelchair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shannon says she is taking action to make air travel more accessible for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing this not just on behalf of myself, but so no one else has to go through this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 26, 2022, Shannon boarded a flight from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to Chicago, and was required to check her wheelchair. When a mid-flight malfunction forced an emergency landing in Orlando, she was held on the plane for more than an hour waiting for the wheelchair before being told it could not be retrieved.<\/p>\n

Other passengers were told the source of their delay was because \u201ca lady in a wheelchair can\u2019t get off the plane,\u201d according to her attorney.<\/p>\n

Shannon was without her wheelchair for the 12-hour delay in Orlando, experiencing pain without the physical support it provides. The next day, she flew home to Chicago, and was told the wheelchair would be on the flight with her, only to find upon landing that it was still in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Until the wheelchair was returned on Nov. 28, 2022, Shannon could not leave her bed, and when it was delivered, she found it had been damaged. This kind of custom mechanized chair can cost between $30,000 and $80,000, according to her attorney.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Frontier Airlines said Shannon was provided with contact information to reach out with further concerns or issues, and the airline has not heard from her since November 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish to again extend our apologies to Ms. O\u2019Brien and her family for the significant inconvenience caused by the temporary absence of her wheelchair,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cWe had multiple team members working to reunite her with her chair and ultimately placed it on another airline to get it to her as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit seeks damages for physical and emotional injuries as a result of Frontier Airlines\u2019 alleged negligence. But Shannon and her lawyer emphasized that her experience is not unique.<\/p>\n

As of this August, more than 7,600 wheelchairs and scooters have been mishandled on flights, according to consumer reports from the U.S. Department of Transportation.<\/p>\n

Lance Northcutt, Shannon\u2019s attorney, said while legislators such as U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois are picking up the cause, legislation can be a slow process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf change has to happen on an individual basis, it will,\u201d he said. \u201cOn behalf of Shannon O\u2019Brien, that change is going to begin in a courtroom in Cook County now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shannon was without her wheelchair for the 12-hour delay in Orlando, experiencing pain without the physical support it provides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":245264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6110,12202,6157,12203,12046,12204,12205,6220,6802,6400,5592,5156],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245263"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245284,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245263\/revisions\/245284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facingdisability.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}