DALLAS _ A woman who was confronted by an American Airlines flight attendant over her baby stroller on Friday has hired the attorney representing Dr. David Dao, the man who was dragged off a United Airlines flight earlier this month in an incident that sparked international outrage over carriers' treatment of passengers.
Attorney Thomas Demetrio told the "Today" show Monday he's representing the woman seen crying in a viral video taken Friday but didn't say whether his new client is planning to file suit against the carrier.
The video shows the aftermath of an incident in which, according to witnesses, an American Airlines flight attendant wrestled the stroller away from the woman as she attempted to bring it on board the aircraft. In the process, he nearly hit the baby she was holding in her arms.
Neither the baby nor the mother was hit by the stroller, Demetrio said Monday.
"This is a real, real problem, and the mother told me, point blank, her concern was her child, who almost got hit by the stroller," Demetrio said. "The video that we just saw is a microcosm of the entire problem. We've got a flight attendant out of control, we've got a distressed mother, we've got a passenger trying to protect that mother."
The video picks up as the situation escalates, with the mother sobbing and another passenger intervening with a threat directed at the flight attendant.
Demetrio said the woman contacted him after the incident. He's also representing Dao, who was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago to make room for employees who were traveling to work. When Dao refused to leave, he was pulled out of his seat by airport police officers and dragged off through the aisle. He suffered facial injuries and a concussion, Demetrio said in a press conference earlier this month.
On Monday, Demetrio said while Dao is planning a lawsuit against United, he's not sure yet about whether the woman, who hasn't been publicly identified, will do the same in the American case.
"I don't know about the American incident. United, yea," he said when asked about the possibility of lawsuits.
American Airlines quickly apologized for the Friday incident and removed the flight attendant from duty. The company upgraded the woman and her family to first class for the duration of their trip.
"We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family's needs are being met while she is in our care," the company said in a statement.
