On Tuesday, a $2 million lawsuit was filed against Delta Air Lines, claiming that a man sexually assaulted a mother and her teenage daughter during a nine-hour flight.
According to Fox Business News, The lawsuit alleges gross negligence by Delta Air Lines and seeks compensation for the sexual assault victims.
Court documents claim that the flight attendants on a flight from JFK to Athens ignored the pleas for help from the woman and her 16-year-old daughter while serving the visibly intoxicated and belligerent man.
According to the documents, the Delta attendants served the intoxicated man, seated next to the plaintiffs, ten vodka drinks and a glass of wine.
The lawsuit stated, “The intoxicated Delta passenger appeared to be getting drunker and drunker as the Delta flight attendants continued serving him alcohol.”
Additionally, the man’s conduct grew increasingly aggressive during the July 26, 2022 flight, and he verbally harassed and inappropriately touched both women.
“What happened to them during a flight was not just a nightmare; it was completely preventable,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Evan Brustein, told The New York Post.
According to Fox Business, the unidentified Connecticut man started making “obscene gestures” and demanded personal information, including the daughter’s address.
Next, the intoxicated man disregarded the fact that the teen’s mother mentioned her daughter was a minor, attracting attention from other passengers. He reached over the 16-year-old to grab at the mother’s arm.
The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs asked Delta flight attendants to move the man and stop serving him alcohol due to feeling unsafe but were told to “be patient.”
The head attendant intervened during the incident, instructing the man to stop talking to the plaintiffs. However, he responded angrily, using profanities like “F*cking B*tches” and derogatory language towards them.
The filing further states that the frightened teenager had a panic attack and sought comfort in her mother’s lap when the man put his “clammy fingers” underneath her shirt, touching the clasp of her bra strap.
The girl then jumped out of her seat and moved away from the alleged attacker while “trembling, petrified, and crying.” The lawsuit claims that after placing his hand on her mother’s knee, he moved it up the inner of her thigh, causing her to jump out of her seat as well.
The mother asked the flight attendant for a seat change as the harassment intensified, going from verbal to sexual assault, but the flight attendant allegedly said they couldn’t help. However, another male passenger offered to exchange places with the teen and sat between the man and the mother for the rest of the flight.
After landing, Delta staff allegedly allowed the intoxicated man to leave without alerting authorities and offered the mother and daughter 5,000 airline miles as an apology.
Delta has refrained from commenting on the lawsuit but stated to Fox Business that the airline “has zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behavior.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people,” Delta told the outlet.
