Daughter says what happened to her dad should never have happened to any human being, regardless of circumstances.
- Abused United suffered multiple injuries
- Lawsuit against airline and Chicago police
- David Dao’s lawyer claims airline’s apology staged
A daughter of David Dao, the 69-year-old Kentucky physician at the centre of a global uproar over his forced removal from a United Airlines flight said the family was “horrified, shocked and sickened” by the incident.
“What happened to my dad should never have happened to any human being, regardless of the circumstances,” Crystal Pepper said at a news conference in Chicago.
Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose and damaged sinuses. He also lost two front teeth, his lawyer Thomas Demetrio said. Dao has been released from the hospital and is staying in a “secure” location.
A lawsuit will be filed and a hearing on preserving evidence is set for Monday in Chicago, Demetrio said. He added that United and other airlines have “bullied” customers for a long time.
“Dao, I believe to his great credit, has come to understand that he is the guy, he’s the guy to stand up for passengers going forward,” Demetrio said.
Demetrio described the video as “rather disturbing.” He said that neither United CEO Oscar Munoz nor any of the airline’s officials have reached out to Dao. He accepted Munoz’s public apology but added it was staged.
“I think his PR people said ‘We’re taking a beating here,'” he said. “I think he was told to get out there.”