American Airlines ignored safety risk, loses lawsuit | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Flying brings with it some inherent aggravations and hassles. No one likes going through airport security, of course, and fighting for overhead luggage space and cramming into cramped seats can be downright unpleasant.

And that’s before you even get into controversial issues, such as whether it’s OK for passengers to recline and whether window shades should be up or down.

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However, while we all accept a certain amount of routine annoyances when flying, both passengers and flight crews alike do have the right to expect that airlines are going to get the big things right.

In other words, having too little leg room may be OK, but being unsafe on the flight because of American Airlines’ policies is not OK. Unfortunately, American Airlines recently ignored the safety concerns of some workers, and the results were not good for either the staff members or the company.

A group of flight attendants was forced to sue to get American to respond to their issues, and the defendants in the case have now been ordered to pay them $18.6 million after the plaintiffs prevailed in court.

American Airlines loses a lawsuit over a key safety concern.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

American Airlines sued over ignored safety concerns

The issue leading to the verdict against American Airlines stems from a change in uniform policy that took place in 2015.

At that time, American Airlines provided garments from a company called Twin Hill, which staff at key hubs were expected to wear. This included staff at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and at LAX in Los Angeles.

In total, over 65,000 employees were expected to don the new uniforms when reporting to work. The only problem is, early lab tests signaled potential adverse reactions to the materials in the clothing. And, although independent labs were initially unable to confirm these results, further testing revealed the presence of formaldehyde and at least 15 other chemicals linked to serious health problems.

Unfortunately, flight attendants began experiencing problems with the clothing, with many alleging that the uniforms caused neurological symptoms, skin rashes, and respiratory problems. Staff complaints came in from multiple airports, with internal hotlines and surveys conducted by unions revealing potentially hundreds of health concerns among staff.

Despite these issues, American Airlines did not allow alternative clothing until 2017, and by that point, many staff members had residual health effects lingering from the residual chemical exposure.

American loses lawsuit, victims awarded millions

Facing serious medical issues, a group of five representative plaintiffs filed suit against American Airlines, and a jury found that the flight attendants had a valid claim.

The jury awarded the flight attendants $18.6 million in damages, with American Airlines responsible for 10% of the amount and Twin Hill found to be 90% liable for the harm.

American Airlines has consistently denied wrongdoing in the case, but its legal problems arising from this issue are only just beginning, as this initial trial was a bellwether or test case aimed at determining how these types of claims would play out in court. There’s actually a broader group of more than 400 affected employees claiming they suffered damages.

The future outcome of these cases remains unclear, as many class action claims are resolved in settlements. Still, news of lawsuits like this should be noteworthy to all airline passengers who care about the materials they are exposed to in flight.

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Ultimately, the relevant question on most people’s minds may be, if an airline is willing to ignore the impact of toxic materials on crew members despite repeated first-hand reports of problems from staff and clear independent test results, how much care is it taking with all of the items that customers are exposed to on its planes?