WWYD? Concussion after suitcase fell on my head!

[UndertheCedartree]

Just a thread to get opinions on this and decide what to do.

I was boarding my flight home from Florida on Thursday evening and was just sitting down when a suitcase landed on my head having fallen from the overhead locker. Honestly, the whole experience has been horrible and I feel I've been really badly treated. Being in the US all the Americans keep telling me to sue!

I don't necessarily want to do that but I would like to stop someone experiencing the same. Or I just forget about it and move on. Just interested to hear opinions.

So after it happened they called firefighters (who are paramedics too) to attend. When waiting for this I noticed they had moved my hand luggage off the plane and got my teenage children out of their seats who were both standing there crying. The firefighters came and the airline crew were telling me I have to go to hospital. I asked for some observations to be done and a stretcher brought. They insisted I had to get off the plane. The pilot came out, no empathy atall, just told me to get off the plane or he would call the police! I went with the firefighters and they told me they would have preferred to do observations before moving me but have to do what the airline says.

Anyway they took me to hospital and they said I was ok to fly home the next day. I tried to get in touch with someone to ask for some accommodations to make the flight more bearable as I was in so much pain. I was told I have to speak to 'the airport team' - we arrived at the airport at 11am and there was noone from the airline there. Eventually they came at 1pm but told me they just work on their behalf they can do nothing I need to speak to the airline on the phone/online. Tried numbers, messaging for hours. Eventually I was told they would make sure I was comfortable on the flight with pillows etc. We got on the flight having been up for a day and a half and so uncomfortable from.just sitting on airport seating, I thought I was finally going to be comfortable. When I got on board I asked for a pillow. You would have thought I'd asked for the crown jewels! I was shouted at, told there was only one pillow person customer (not actually a pillow just a small thin cushion) It was a horrible, painful flight and I felt so bad and was so dizzy when I got off the flight I am now in A&E.

They think it is a concussion but I failed one of the neurological observations so I'm waiting for a CT scan. I honestly think they could have taken more care and been much nicer. Wwyd?

Complain and sue. Which airline was it?

@UndertheCedartree As someone who was a victim of corporate irresponsibility in the past (but sadly couldn't sue solely because of a technicality), I think you should sue the airline, OP.

The responsibility of a service provider is to keep you safe. If they can't be fucked to ensure the overhead lockers are functioning correctly, then they should be held accountable for that.

A lot of people think those that suing is somehow immoral, or wrong. Those people are sluts for corporations, who think that big businesses couldn't possibly do anything wrong and should be defended at all costs. They are the same type of people who defend their employer whenever someone says anything bad about them, when their employer wouldn't even give a shit if they died. Those people are to be ignored.

Yes, I was mentally well and yes I had insurance covering everything.

I left when I was discharged. Why wouldn't my insurance cover it?

American hospitals are typically a billion times better than the nhs so maybe you’re at a walk in centre.

You haven't answered about your CT scan results? Your posts all seem very mixed up and hard to follow, your original post very dramatic (the stretcher, demanding observations on the plane- I dont think it would make any difference if obs were done on or off the plane??), what exactly would you be sueing for?

I do have insurance, I may be stupid but not that stupid. I just knew I had it printed out in my passport wallet. Yes of course I have it electronically but I've been a bit confused due to the concussion! My dad is dealing with it for me now.

I have autism which I think might make me seem immature.

@pugnaciouspixie I don't think that 3 year old post is helpful or relevant here.

There is no immediate risk to OP's children of her father helping her with some paperwork - especially as the children are currently with their own father.

Personal injury, presumably.

It's a messy area of law but I very strongly suspect the firefighters' understanding is a bit flawed.

TBH if they'd said to the crew that they really needed to do some quick obs on board before moving you then regardless of the law I can't see that the request would be denied...

As much as anything as a case of backside covering by the crew/airline in case of consequences down the road.....
....

It's not new information! I have travel insurance! I didn't really do most of those things though. I was in a wheelchair pretty out of it most of the time. And I never said they were in a suitcase. They were in my backpack.

In the UK a lot of observations are done in order to transport the patient safely. There certainly doesn't seem to be the same level of care in the US but I think they did want to do BP, SATs, HR, Resps.

Realistically, doing a 'couple of sets of observations' as OP wanted was simply going to delay matters.
She clearly needed to be taken to hospital, and all the professionals present agreed on that. She was talking and able to walk. Any observations could be taken in the vehicle in transit.

But everyone is warned of the risk of luggage falling out of the overhead lockers on a flight.. I can't belive it just fell out of it's own accord when it was shut.

There's no risk whatsoever if OP's father is dealing with it all remotely over the phone for her, but to be fair to @pugnaciouspixie I think she's expressing surprise that OP has a relationship with her father at all given that he abused her as a child.

Perhaps, @AngelicKaty, but not particularly relevant to this thread and not particularly pleasant to be trawling OP's past posts and sharing such information.

Oh really?

The American staff at the airport, all the medical staff were very nice. Most of he BA staff were horrible. One lady made me cold compresses and then one manager stepped in and called an ambulance in the UK. The rest were horrible.

My dad has now!

Op said the luggage hit her just as she was sitting down, which suggests people were boarding and stowing their cabin luggage with or without the help of the cabin crew. I don't believe OP has ever said that the O/H locker was shut (unless I missed that?) and one of the actions you will notice cabin crew doing when the flight is ready for push-back is to walk along he aisle and check that all lockers are firmly shut - this flight clearly wasn't at that stage.
The point is, the airline is responsible for your safety - in fact, that's the primary job of the cabin crew (not bringing round food and selling perfume as some people seem to think) - so if OP was injured whilst on-board, BA could be held liable.

Maybe I missed a trick and should have claimed the case full of gold bars was mine!

Wow that is crazy. When I'm travelling to Nigeria, they weigh our cabin luggage and it must be 10kg!. Not fair at all!