WWYD? Concussion after suitcase fell on my head!

I have, and was taken straight off the plane. I was unconscious. If they need to get a line into you, or do anything with your heart, there's no room in the aisle on a plane.

I'm not sure what people are expecting OP to sue for. Unless the luggage bin was defective and fell open as a result, it's not their fault and likely the fault of a passenger not packing it properly.

Given that the captain had to get involved I'm assuming there was a bit more said between OP and the crew than has been revealed.

At the end of the day, she had a head injury of some degree and needed to get to a hospital as quickly as possible, and the flight needed to leave.

American airlines (especially the budget ones) are notorious awful for service, so I've no doubt that the crew probably didn't give her any special attention.

Complain, sure. But sue? I think it's a bit ridiculous with the info we've got, but they do love a frivolous lawsuit over there so why not!

Get off your phone, OP.
With the symptoms you are describing about the worst thing you can do is spend hours focused on a screen.
Save your brain/ concentration time for dealing with insurance companies etc.
Rest, get some light exercise, drink lots of water and recover.

And again, GET OFF YOUR PHONE if you want your concussion symptoms to improve.

Firstly, I’m sorry to hear about your experience, and I hope you are back to fighting fit very soon.
Secondly, don’t rush back to work until you are fully recovered.
Thirdly, inform your insurance company and claim for any expenses you have incurred, from medical bills to time off work.
Finally, take the airline to court and take them for every penny you can. That’s appalling treatment.

Fix the locker?

I would comply with authorities, this is most important, but also stay safe. .

I’m a healthcare professional. You were awake and talking, there was no need for them to do obs while you were still on the plane. It makes far more sense to get you off the plane and do them in a more appropriate location such as in the terminal where there is space to assess you properly and start any necessary treatment.

They could have applied a collar or used manual stabilisation if they were concerned about a significant neck injury and that would have been safer than trying to manoeuvre you from a sitting to a lying position in such a restricted space.

It looks like you were taken to a small emergency clinic adjacent to the airport rather than an actual hospital so that’s probably why you didn’t have a bill!

@AmazonianWarrior as I asked you before, what should the airline have done differently.

Op if you’re thinking straight to make this post you can quite easily contact your insurance company. Hope you feel better soon

Would you say that if all of this happened to you/to one of your loved ones the way it happened to OP?! Did you read her post? If that’s the way you think people should be treated, I disagree with you.

OP what a nightmare, I'm sorry. And the 'oh really's on here don't help.

But my only advice is as per pp - please rest your eyes, stop posting. Avoid screens for several days. Listen to music instead - if not too loud, that's good for your brain. Get better soon!

As I said earlier the attitude to cabin baggage in the US is quite different from the UK, or indeed most of Europe. We commented that a few cabin bags were almost the size of our checked luggage so depending on the contents it could also be very heavy.

Fairly appropriate management.

It sounds like there may have been some difficulty in communication, particularly in the airport while waiting for the return flight after the hospital attendance (lots of attempts at phone calls) but otherwise seems fine, especially given that the insurance people weren't involved to help.

Absolutely agree with this 👌

Presumably the OP shared this information all by herself!

OP, please don't worry about things unnecessarily now.

Concussion is a serious injury, in spite of what others say. I had a bad concussion a decade ago and it gave me terrible post concussion syndrome for 6 months after I didn't take enought care of myself. It's imperative to be able to rest properly, limit screen use, then gradually get back into physical and mentally active things without overwhelming your brain.

The concussion will heal with time and gradually getting on with things, but it's not helpful to overstress, get too anxious or not rest from screens etc enough

My poor brain couldn't recover well as I overdid it and any post injury inflammation wasn't able to get better as quickly. Please take care of yourself as others have said, then come back to the thread.

Unacceptable behaviour and responses from all of the agencies involved. Definitely make a claim not just for injury but for their negligence and your stress. Also name and shame as long as it doesn't affect your claim.

The airline got her medical assistance immediately, she got taken to the airport hospital, she got CT scan at the hospital airport, where they deemed her fit to fly and BA booked her, and her children, on the next available flight free of charge. All without seeing any insurance documents. What else could they have done?

I’d definitely complain and sue the airline, they treated you absolutely appallingly OP! I’m sorry all this happened to you and I really hope you get well soon! Don’t let them get away with it, they should have looked after you!

You absolutely can for BA.

I don’t care 🤥🤥😶

They do observations before moving someone when they suspect the patient has a broken neck/spine and so moving them would increase the risk/severity of possible paralysis. But if one of the tests they were asking you to do was standing up with your eyes closed, they clearly didn’t think that applied here, and there was no reason you shouldn’t have been wheeled off the plane. I think you’re getting hung up on something that really wouldn’t have made any difference.

It doesn't sound weird at all - we have those in one of our local A&Es too. 😊
OP, I don't understand why you're so obsessed with the fact that the fire fighters/paramedics weren't allowed to do observations on the plane. What practical difference did it make? They got you off the plane and into the Emergency Room at HCA faster, and HCA did a CT scan which was far more useful in determining if you'd suffered any lasting damage - and plainly you haven't because you've subsequently been assessed by a UK A&E (including another CT scan), been discharged with appropriate advice and are able to spend most of the last two days using a screen.
Your main concerns now should be establishing if your travel insurance covers the US medical costs you've incurred (did your father get through to your insurer?) and writing a complaint to BA if you want to. You might consider suing them later, but if I were you I would wait for the outcome of your complaint because from the information you've given us, it seems to me that BA would be able to defend the action they took in getting you medical assistance promptly.

Why did they need to the obs maybe if you were so out of it and confused like you say you were,the paramedics thought you needed hospital NOW! And didn't want to waste time.

What really happened to make the pilot threaten the police? Seriously that's not an everyday occurrence is it. Maybe you being very confused, your teenage kids crying and the whole commotion meant they wanted you off the plane as soon as they could not laying on a stretcher getting your obs done on an aeroplane. The obs weren't going to pick up a head injury that may have deteriorated 10000 miles up in the sky and only a Dr can make a fit to fly declaration.