We are distressed to report about another wheelchair user harmed by an airline, especially since we know this won’t be the last article of this type that we write.
This time, we are sharing that the family of Nathaniel Foster Jr., a quadriplegic vent user who became comatose after what United Airlines calls an “incident,” has been awarded $30 million in a settlement.
Nathaniel’s family sued United Airlines after one of their agents aggressively pushed his wheelchair while he was deplaned in 2019. The complaint says Nathaniel looked “fearful” and whispered, “I can’t breathe” during the incident while a gate agent giggled, telling a doctor who offered to help, “We’ve got this.” Nathaniel then had a heart attack, and a different doctor at the scene found he had no pulse. He became comatose and now has severe brain damage.
No amount of money will undo the damage Nathaniel sustained. And $30 million, while appearing to be a large sum, wouldn’t even cover a year’s worth of airline-inflicted damage to wheelchair users.
Consider this. If you divide $30 million by the number of wheelchairs damaged in 2022 – 11,389 – it comes to $2,634. That’s less than the cost to replace a decent manual chair mangled by an airline baggage handler, which in turn is far less than what a power chair costs, which is, of course, far less valuable than the life of the person using that piece of equipment.
How Much Longer?
Change comes too slowly, especially for wheelchair users. But it shouldn’t be this slow.
We have the attention of powerful people in government – Senators Tammy Duckworth, Tammy Baldwin, and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, for instance. We have seen laws pass and initiatives none of us thought would go anywhere – like wheelchair users being allowed to fly in their chairs – gain traction.
Now is not the time to give up and become complacent. Rather, it is time to fight harder. Call your elected officials. Join United Spinal if you haven’t already, and especially sign up for our Grassroots Advocacy Network. Talk about this issue with anyone who will listen.
And no matter what? Don’t be patient.
Get involved by joining our Grassroots Advocacy Network and take action on issues impacting our community. For more information on United Spinal Association’s extensive advocacy program to improve the quality of life of all wheelchair users, visit our advocacy page.