SEETHING! So frickin angry right now! Lawyers, please advice!

[papal]

I am so mad right now.
I just got off the phone with my best friend who is 32 weeks pregnant and is on bed-rest from week 24 because of preterm contractions.
Her parents arrived from India yesterday to help her out pre and post-baby. Her dad, a wonderful man, is paralyzed from waist down (fighting for my country in war).. so, obviously, he is in a wheel-chair.

They took the Emirates airline (one of the best airlines out there) to the US. From India to Dubai, the wheel-chair was on the flight. In Dubai, they were told that there is NO space on the plane for the wheelchair and it has to be gate-checked. My friend's mom was very wary but after arguing for a while, she let them gate-check it. It is a collapsable wheel-chair but the Emirates people took of the wheels and what not and gave them to my friend's mom. They said she should hold onto these things in case they were lost! Ok, so now she has some extra 15 pounds of stuff to carry!! WTH! It gets worse.
When they reach New York, they wait for the wheel-chair when they exit the plane. It does not arrive. Apparently, it is 'lost in transit'. My friend's mom is pretty anxious at this point but does not lose it yet.. she is just thinking in her head 'it can be replaced, the airlines will pay for it'. So they use the airline wheel chair and go through Immigration. At this point, the airline says 'this wheelchair cannot go beyond immigration'... umm..ok, so he is supposed to magically start walking and walk out of there? WTF? My friends' mom is MAD.. she argues with them like crazy saying that they HAVE to let them take it to the car at the least!! They refuse. This is the first time in the country for both of them. They refuse to let her use their phones so she has to find a pay phone. She has no quarters and they don't help her out with that. Finally, some passengers give her change for a couple of dollars and she calls my friend's husband who is at the airport to pick them up. Unfortunately, his cell phone does not work near the airport and she leaves a message. After waiting for a couple of hours outside, he checks his messages. Meanwhile, they have been in immigration for 4 hours! After a 13 hour flight!!!
My friend's husband is MAD MAD MAD. He yells and yells at the airlines people... they call some 'supervisors' and now they are allowed to take the wheelchair to kerb-side.. but NOT the parking lot! WTF!
Meanwhile, my friend, who is supposed to NOT STRESS at all because of frequent pre-term contractions has to call the local wheelchair store, ask them to stay open, call some friends who come and pick her up and take her to the store and RENT a wheelchair so her dad can exit the car and enter the apartment!!! UNBELIEVABLE!

Oh, and the airlines have the AUDACITY to tell my friend's mom, when she was waiting in Immigration to call wheelchair-rental places in New York and rent one. Umm.. she has just landed in this country.. how in freakin hell, without the Yellow Pages, without a phone, without change for a phone, without any idea how is she supposed to do that??!!

Where is the humanity in people? How could this happen. My friend is so stressed out.. this is not good for the baby.

Please tell me there is something they can do to get the airlines to compensate them for this atrocious behaviour. She has called them over and over again but they say they did nothing wrong!

Anyone still reading this? Lawyers, please, is there some way to sue these people. This should NEVER EVER happen to another disabled person again.

I AM SO HOPPING MAD!!!!!

[chlobo]

I'm not a lawyer but I just wanted to say my blood pressure rose just reading this story. It is absolutely outrageous. I'm surprised they didn't pick him up and put him in a chair in the lobby so they could get their chair back.

OUTRAGEOUS

[COElizabeth]

Oh, I am so angry! I tried to help an elderly, disabled Hungarian woman through immigration and customs once and was absolutely appalled at her treatment by airline and customs employees. I was deeply ashamed to have that be someone's first impression of my country. My mother is disabled, too, and I have just talked her into flying to see us. It will be her first trip alone since requiring a wheelchair, and I am cringing now worrying about what I might get her into.

I hope that someone has a good answer for you on seeking recourse. I wish I could make every one of those idiots have to be in a wheelchair for a month or so. Maybe that would teach them a lesson. Aargh.

(edited for typo)
Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[rrosen]

WHAT???????? I am speachless! What if they called their embassy or the newspaper. Someone has to be interested in hearing this awful story. I hope that the rest of thier trip is more pleasant. I am so terribly sorry that your friend's parents first impression of America was this awful. I am horrified.

Where's Anna?

[pritchettzoo]

Unfortunately, you can't usually sue people for being jackasses. x(

Hopefully Nita will read this and maybe know more about that area of law. More than likely, their only avenue will be to write a letter of complaint to everyone and his brother. Send the letters via certified mail if possible. You could probably write one letter and modify it to detail the treatment at each point. Write the details as soon as possible to try to remember names. If they don't remember names, include physical descriptions or as much as possible to help identify those who should be strung up by their toes.

Contact info for Emirates (probably under corporate structure):
http://www.ekgroup.com/ANREP2004/index.html

Write letters to the management of the airport--I don't know which airport, but it could be a government-run or a privately owned airport. They should have a website with contact information.

Write letters to the appropriate customs officials:
http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/

I hope your friend keeps cooking her baby and her parents enjoy the rest of their stay here. I hope they don't think all Americans are that unfeeling and rude.

Anna

[papal]

Thanks Anna! I will fwd this info to her. She is typing up the letter tonight and sending it to everyone.
Isn't there something the group (i forget the name) that lobbies for Americans with Disabilities can do? Something like the AARP for the handicapped?

[pritchettzoo]

I don't know of any particular lobby--the ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act is probably what you're thinking of. I don't think that will cover this situtation--the airline/custom agent/etc didn't deny your friend's parent access because he was disabled. And the facilities were accessible to him once he got a wheelchair.

Here's what seems to have happened: There are a couple of wheelchairs sitting around for the occasional old person who gets tired or person who passes out, etc. They have a set policy that the wheelchairs are not allowed out past a certain area because weird people have stolen them. They make minimum wage and it's not in their power to change the policy; they were afraid of being fired for violating policy. Or they could care less about some old foreign guy--hey, if he really needed a wheelchair, he should have brought his own. The buck kept being passed from one minimally skilled minimum wage worker to another...

Someone from the airline who lost the wheelchair should have stepped up and made sure your friend's father got to his location. Someone SOMEWHERE should have stepped up and assisted him. But it was under no one's specific job description and ultimately no one cared enough to step up. That's the state of things in customer service and humanity today.

Anna

[COElizabeth]

Rashmi,

I found the following info on the Philly airport web site:

Passengers with disabilities may request wheelchair assistance from the airlines. The airlines are required under the Air Carrier Access Act to provide wheelchair assistance upon request. If wheelchair assistance is not provided, then the passenger may request to speak with the airline's Complaints Resolution Official (CRO). Each airline must have at least one CRO available at each airport during times of scheduled carrier operations. The CRO can be available by telephone.

Complaints dealing with wheelchair availability or those alleging discriminatory treatment by air carrier personnel can be directed to the U. S. Department of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection Division, which can be contacted as follows. (Hours are 700AM though 1100PM, EST.)

Voice: 800-778-4838
TTD/TTY: 866-754-4368
[email protected]
Aviation Consumer Protection Division
U. S. Department of Transportation
400 7th Street, S.W., Room 4107
Washington, D.C. 20590

I certainly think your friend's dad has a legitimate complaint regarding "wheelchair availability"! I hope the airline is at least buying him a new chair?

Still very angry!

ETA: I found this interesting story on Delta being fined over $1 million for complaints from wheelchair users. It briefly mentions legal requirements for airlines to provide wheelchairs and to resolve complaints quickly. It made me particularly happy to see that story because it was Delta that treated the woman I mentioned so badly!

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/extension/ped/northeastADA/bulletins/ada_dec03.html

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[jec2]

Wow, I am just appalled. I don't have any other suggestions except "the squeeky wheel gets the grease." So, tell your friend to be squeeky and perhaps use my mom's strategy which is to say, "what can you do to rectify this situation." if she isn't happy she then says "that is unacceptable and I would like to speak to your supervisor."

[papal]

Thanks Elizabeth. I will fwd this to her too.
What my friend told me is that the airlines said that their wheelchair cannot be taken out of the Immigration area. So from the plane to the Immigration, he was in a wheelchair. Beyond that (to get out of the airport and get to the car) they said you have to use your own wheelchair (which the airlines lost). I am sure they will compensate for the lost wheelchair (well, i hope anyway) and seemingly they have not broken any rules since they DID provide a wheelchair till Immigration... the airport itself does not have to provide the service, only the airline. It is so frustrating. I am googling away for info too.
THe one thing i read on the DoT website was that wheelchairs have the first priority to be stored on the plane... if this is the case, what could the airlines possibly have stored that they did not have room for it? Surely a big-a$$ plane like a trans-atlantic-continental one has enough space on board to store a wheelchair.. i don't think they should have gate-checked it.

ETA: Oh, and since nobody is allowed into immigration from outside, there was no way my friend's dh could have gone in there and helped carry him to the car or taken a rental wheelchair inside... :(

[COElizabeth]

It is confusing. I haven't seen anything that deals with who is responsible for wheelchair availability from immigration to the baggage claim or airport door. I did see, though, that the DOT rules apply only to U.S. carriers and sometimes to flights operated by foreign carriers under a code-share agreement with a U.S. airline. If the flight wasn't a code-share, then even the rule about wheelchair priority might not be in effect for that flight. I'd still complain to the DOT, though. And I still think the airline should have taken responsibility for getting him to the car, at least, since it lost the wheelchair he was counting on to do that. What a nightmare.

Reading some of these stories has gotten me really worried about my mom's upcoming flight. Hers will be a non-stop domestic flight only 2 hours long, and she isn't paralyzed, so she can probably walk through a metal detector if she doesn't have to stand too long, so it should be okay, but I now have a better understanding of why she has been so reluctant to fly.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[jasabo]

Oh boy, what a horrid situation! I can't even imagine having to endure all that, after such a long flight, and being in a new country. Very frustrating!

I also find it very odd that they LOST the wheelchair? How in the world does that happen? If they checked it at the plane, like you do with strollers when you stroll right up to the plane door, then they'd put it in last and take it out first since it's right near the cargo door. Not that I have any first hand knowledge about packing up a plane, of course.

Anyway, so sorry for what they had to go through. I hope this doesn't ruin their visit.

Lisa - mom to 14 month old twin boys

[trumansmom]

Want us to start a letter writing (or email) campaign to the CEO?

Things like this just make me furious!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and Eleanor 4/14/04

[AngelaS]

Wow, that is HORRID!! I think your very pregnant friend needs to call her favorite TV station and tell them she has a WHOPPER story for them to report on. I bet they can help kick the airline into high gear about finding or replacing his chair! And making people aware of how the disabled and those from other countries are treated at the local airport.

[cinrein]

Oh Rashmi, that is just terrible. I'm so sorry (and mad) for your friends.

Cindy and Anna February 2003

[mudder17]

This situation is appalling! I got angrier and angrier as I read your post! I don't even know what to say, I'm so angry! I can't believe people would be so unfeeling, so irresponsible, so...so dumb!

If your friend needs a bunch of people to write and complain, plase let us know. This sounds like one of those investigative news reports that we often see on our local news.

I'm so sorry for your friend's family. I hope they at least get a new wheelchair out of the airline. Grrr!


Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya
born 22 February 2004

http://lilypie.com/baby1/050222/2/16/0/+10/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif Breastfed 6 months and counting

http://www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya

[nitaghei]

Rashmi,

This is beyond appalling!! Must remember never to fly Emirates Air!

I'm swamped right now, but I'll try to do some research later in the day. I'm fairly sure the airline has to pay some amount to replace the wheelchair. The rules that will govern are those of for international air travel - there is a separate convention for this, and I'll try to find it later in the afternoon.

How the heck do they lose a gate checked wheelchair?! I would definitely have your friend's husband call the airline, and keep going up the chain of command until he gets someone who can actually do something. YELL, YELL, YELL at customer service at Emirates Air. Wish I could sic my FIL on them!

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[jamsmu]

Ang--
That was my idea, too. This is just disgusting. And bringing in the media will make a HUGE difference. No company wants to look bad to the public! Plus, then the media can deal with the legal stuff for you!

Anyway, I'm sending a copy of Rashmi's orig post to my friend, a lawyer who loves pro-bono law--one who became a lawyer to truly look out for the disabled and underdogs. Maybe he'll have some ideas?!

[miki]

That is awful and I think it's a shame that no one at the airport would even let them use a phone.

I agree with Anna that the Americans with Disabilities Act probably does not apply to this situation and that there were a whole lot of stupid people who just wanted to pass the buck and not have to deal with the old foreign man who didn't even bring his old wheelchair. (That is what they were thinking, not me.)

And I totally agree with Juliet about being a squeaky wheel. As a former emplyee of the federal government, I know that the thing my client agencies hated the most was to get a letter from a member of Congress or a Senator saying a constituent wrote them about a problem involving their agency and please provide an explanation as to why that problem was not resolved. FYI, every federal employee dealing with the public is SUPPOSED to do their best to provide good customer service. The customer being the public. So even if Customs or airport personnel were not obligated to do something, their supervisors should still be told that they did not offer their assistance in a courteous and helpful manner and did not do a simple thing like let your friend's mother make a phone call that would have cost the government just about nothing. And she should express her outrage that first-time visitors to this country were treated so poorly. Your friend should detail in her letter the various federal employees her parents had to deal with and which agency they worked for and send letters to her elected representatives as well as the agencies, if she can figure them out. Here are links to find out who your representatives are:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and http://www.senate.gov/

As for international air carriers, if their countries are signatories, I believe that the Warsaw Convention governs liability for lost property. They should check the back of their ticket. If the WC applies, the ticket is required to recite certain info. I believe it should make reference to the monetary limits of the airline's liability.

Edited to add: Here's an organization that may be able to help: http://www.nod.org/

[babymama]

Rashmi -
The advocacy group for the disabled that is active here in my town (part of a national group) is called ADAPT - http://www.adapt.org/. They are extremely well organized, a lobbying force to be reckoned with. Locally, they're mostly focused on housing issues, but I know that they're active on any issue that affects the disabled.
Lydia
Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03
http://lilypie.com/baby1/041116/0/6/1/-6/.png

[suribear]

This is really maddening and unforgivable. GEEZ. Your friend does NOT need this stress! She should call one of those investigative or consumer rights programs. Most local TV stations have something like this, and I bet they would be receptive.

Kris

[american_mama]

Rashmi and Elizabeth:

HORRIBLE! Be sure to not let the airport administration off the hook. Although I think an exception should have been made, just as background, the airline wheelchairs are probably special ones (ultra narrow to fit down airplane aisles) and are probably supposed to be kept near gates for this purpose, but airPORTS have lots of wheelchairs and staff just for this purpose. So even if the airline couldn't supply a chair or person to go beyond immigration, the airport should have. The airline and immigration staff were at fault for not contacting someone at the airport, and the airport needs to know about the situation so they can work to prevent a reoccurence. So make sure to send the airport a copy of the letter.

There is not one national advocacy group for the disabled, as far as I know, but you might try Paralyzed Veterans of America as a starting point since they are active nationally and relate most closely to how your friend's father became disabled.

Also, don't forget to ask (I would demand) that the airline reimburse your family for each and every cost they incur because of the missing wheelchair (i.e. cost for replacement wheelchair, fitting for a new wheelchair, cost for wheelchair rental, cost for express delivery of new and/or rental wheelchair before return flight, any damage to wheelchair if it is ever found, etc.)

My mom has multiple sclerosis and has flown several times cross-country and internationally with her wheelchair, and it has mostly gone very well! She always flies with my dad, and she can walk if she has too. Elizabeth, don't give up completely!

My mom has ALWAYS had her wheelchair gatechecked, never brought on the plane, so I am rather amazed that your friend's father was able to bring his wheelchair on the plane for even a portion of the trip. However, my parents have never been asked to carry the wheels! Give me a break! I think my parents use a bungee cord to keep the wheelchair tied together. On an international flight many years ago, the wheelchair was slightly damaged, and the airline paid for the repair.

On her most recent international flight (Detroit to Amsterdam to Brussels), which was just in May, my mom also gatechecked her walker, which ended up getting lost because my dad forgot it at the gate in Amsterdam. Apparently, he changed the story a little bit to Northwest/KLM and got them thinking they had lost it, so they tried unsuccessfully to find it. They were really inept (they called twice saying they'd found it: "A baby stroller, right?" "Wrong." Next call. "A wheelchair, right?" "Wrong. A walker." We even gave them the Dutch word and a photo of the item.) Apparently, Northwest contracts out the searches for missing luggage, so that added some miscommunication and added layers to the search. But pretty quickly, Northwest (or their contractor) decides to cut their losses, and if the item is valued under a certain amount (maybe $250 or $500), they just pay you for it rather than continuing to look. So my parents got cash.

My parents were accompanied by either an airline or airport staff person from the gate in Brussels to immigration. Apparently, the staff person just pushed an empty airport wheelchair the whole way since my mom had her own wheelchair and my dad could push her (proof that there are lots of wheelchairs at airports). They were left on their own to go through immigration in Brussels, which was a tad hard because my dad had to push the luggage cart and my mom had to wheel herself (which she is not good at doing). But the distance involved was very short, and I don't think it was an unreasonable action.

My parents told me that during their Amsterdam transfer, airline personnel tried to be extra helpful, but ended up causing my parents significant delay in making their connection. The airline (or airport) staff told my parents to wait for a special transfer bus that would get them across the tarmac and to their next flight, but the bus took a long time to get there, had to pick up another passenger, etc. My dad kept saying "We can walk," but the personnel kept insisting all would be well, and my parents ended up waiting so long they barely made their connection. I'm not sure what my point is in telling this story, except to say disabled passengers need to be somewhat vigilant when relying on others, and either decline help that seems to be more of a hindrance or be prepared to speak up if something seems wrong (like you're getting pressed for time, or seem to be heading in the wrong direction, or whatever).

Eliabeth, Rashmi, or anyone, if you have any specific questions that I can ask my parents, just email me by clicking on my user name and I'll let you know.

I hope your friend gets this resolved, and I hope they have many positive experiences with helpful Americans and our country's good wheelchair access. Living in Belgium with a stroller, and during my mom's visit, my husband and I say "Praise the ADA!" all the time. We really miss good accessibility.

[sntm]

What an awful, terrible thing to happen to them!

My mom (who is visually impaired) is president of a local chapter of a advocacy group on disabilities (ashamed that I can't remember the name right now! too many acronyms running around in my head). I agree that I don't know that it would do much good, but involving them might help drum up publicity and give the news media some knowledgeable people to interview and quote. I'll try to find out the name.
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shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
Breastfeeding 14 months and counting