An American mother is planning to file a lawsuit against United Airlines following an incident on a flight from Tampa to New York with the airline.
Melissa Sotomayor was traveling with her nearly two-year-old son, who relies on a respiratory apparatus. Despite having arranged the necessary medical paperwork in advance, the crew asked her repeatedly to disconnect the equipment shortly before departure. The mother refused, stating that the device was keeping her son alive.
The cabin crew, including a stewardess who she identifies as “Nora,” put the situation forward to the captain. According to Sotomayor, this resulted in a one-hour delay. She was left feeling deeply humiliated by the way the situation was handled.
In a nearly ten-minute TikTok video, she voiced her frustrations and urged others not to fly with United. She claims she received no apology from the crew and marked the airline’s eventual response “insincere.” United Airlines states that the airline has contacted her and apologised, but the incident has already led to further criticism and a legal fundraising campaign.
Similar case
In 2023, another mother also filed a lawsuit against an American airline. Her son, Kevin Greenidge, was flying with American Airlines a year earlier when he suffered a cardiac arrest during the flight. The boy died aboard the Boeing 737. His mother subsequently filed a lawsuit against the airline. She argued that his death could have been prevented if the onboard defibrillator had been functional.