A Connecticut lady is suing JetBlue for $1.5 million after she allegedly suffered excessive burns from sizzling tea she claims was spilled on her chest and lap throughout a turbulent flight.
On Might 15, Tahjana Lewis was touring along with her 5-year-old daughter on a JetBlue flight from Orlando, Florida, to Hartford, Connecticut, when flight attendants began beverage service throughout a bout of turbulence, in keeping with the lawsuit filed in June. In her go well with, Lewis claims {that a} passenger seated within the row in entrance of her requested a cup of sizzling tea, the contents of which spilled onto Lewis because it was being served by the flight attendant, leading to extreme burns.
Lewis is suing the New York-based provider for negligence, arguing that JetBlue’s flight workers served water for tea and different drinks at an unreasonably extreme temperature that was past meals service requirements. The flight workers additionally did not correctly administer first help to Lewis after the incident occurred, in keeping with the lawsuit.
“They did principally nothing to dissuade her ache,” Lewis’ lawyer Edward Jazlowiecki instructed CBS MoneyWatch.
Lewis claims she suffered extreme burns on her higher chest, legs, buttocks and proper arm on account of the spill, and that a few of burns will likely be completely disabling and contain quite a lot of ache and medical bills.
JetBlue did not instantly reply to a request for remark Thursday.
Turbulence
The lawsuit serves for example of how airlines are not doing enough to keep customers safe within the air, particularly throughout turbulence, Lewis’ lawyer Edward Jazlowiecki instructed CBS MoneyWatch.
“There’s a number of turbulence on the market and the airways actually do not care concerning the consolation of the passengers or their security,” Jazlowiecki mentioned.
Lewis’ case comes simply weeks after flight turbulence led to a 73-year-old British man dying while on board a Singapore Airlines flight to Bangkok. No less than 20 different passengers on that flight were treated in an intensive care unit after the flight landed. In Might, a dozen folks had been injured throughout a Qatar Airways flight hit by turbulence whereas en route from Doha, Qatar, to Dublin, Eire.
Plane turbulence, which might vary from gentle bumps and jolts to dramatic adjustments in altitude, is attributable to “atmospheric strain, jet streams, air round mountains, chilly or heat climate fronts, or thunderstorms,” in keeping with the Federal Aviation Administration, and is taken into account a standard prevalence within the airline business. In response to a 2021 National Transportation Safety Board report, deaths and severe accidents attributable to turbulence are uncommon.