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Physician
who was
dragged
off
flight
settles
with
United
By
MICHAEL
TARM
ap.org
CHICAGO
- A
Kentucky
doctor
who was
dragged
off a
United
flight
after he
refused
to give
up his
seat to
employees
of a
partner
airline
has
reached
a
settlement
with
United
for an
undisclosed
amount,
his
lawyers
announced
Thursday.
David
Dao's
legal
team
said in
a brief
statement
that the
agreement
includes
a
provision
that the
amount
will
remain
confidential.
Lawyer
Thomas
Demetrio
praised
United
CEO
Oscar
Munoz.
Munoz
"said he
was
going to
do the
right
thing,
and he
has,"
Demetrio
said in
the
statement.
"In
addition,
United
has
taken
full
responsibility
for what
happened
...
without
attempting
to blame
others,
including
the city
of
Chicago."
Cellphone
video of
the
April 9
confrontation
aboard a
jetliner
at
Chicago's
O'Hare
Airport
sparked
widespread
public
outrage
over the
way Dao
was
treated.
The
footage
showed
airport
police
officers
pulling
the
69-year-old
father
of five
from his
seat and
dragging
him down
the
aisle.
His
lawyer
said he
lost
teeth
and
suffered
a broken
nose and
a
concussion.
The
incident
arose
from a
common
air
travel
issue -
a fully
booked
flight.
Wanting
to seat
four
crew
members,
the
airline
offered
passengers
$400 and
later
$800 to
voluntarily
relinquish
their
seats.
When no
one did,
United
selected
four
passengers
at
random.
Three
people
got off
the
flight,
but Dao
refused,
saying
he
needed
to get
home to
treat
patients
the next
day. The
airline
then
summoned
the
officers,
who
forcibly
removed
Dao.
The
incident
was a
major
embarrassment
for
United,
and many
observers
expected
Dao to
file a
costly
lawsuit.
United's
response
in the
immediate
aftermath
was
widely
criticized.
Munoz
first
defended
the
airline
and
described
Dao as
"belligerent"
before
publicly
apologizing
days
later
and
vowing
to do
better.
Three
airport
police
officers
who
dragged
Dao from
the
plane
worked
for a
city
agency,
the
Chicago
Department
of
Aviation.
They
were
placed
on leave
after
the
incident.
The
agency
released
a report
April 24
in which
the
officer
who
pulled
Dao from
his
seat,
James
Long,
gave his
version
of
events.
Long
said Dao
was
verbally
and
physically
abusive
and was
flailing
his arms
before
he lost
his
balance
and
struck
his
mouth on
an
armrest.
The
department's
roughly
300
officers
guard
the
city's
two main
airports
but are
not part
of the
regular
Chicago
police
force.
They
receive
less
training
and
cannot
carry
guns
inside
the
terminals.
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