{"id":980,"date":"2017-09-29T12:02:33","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T11:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.groupactionlawyers.co.uk\/blog\/?p=980"},"modified":"2017-09-29T12:02:33","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T11:02:33","slug":"jetblue-airways-sued-violent-turbulence-injuring-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.groupactionlawyers.co.uk\/blog\/jetblue-airways-sued-violent-turbulence-injuring-27","title":{"rendered":"JetBlue Airways sued for violent turbulence, injuring 27 on board"},"content":{"rendered":"

JetBlue Flight 429 took off from Boston, Massachusetts on 11th<\/sup> August 2016, heading towards Sacramento in California. During the flight, the aircraft came into contact with extreme turbulence which forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Rapid City, South Dakota.<\/p>\n

Once landed, 24 passengers and 3 crew members were taken to the hospital for medical treatment.<\/p>\n

In this rather unique and possibly groundbreaking legal case, we’re seeing passengers sue an airline as a result of adverse weather and it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.
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\nOne passenger who was on the flight shared his experience: <\/p>\n

“…all of a sudden, the plane just dropped. It dropped fast enough so that things just flew up in the air… I just saw laptops, candy and soda splashing onto the ceiling.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One shocking image, taken by a passenger on the flight, shows a crew member wearing a neck brace being wheeled down the cabin aisle.<\/p>\n

Nature of the case<\/h2>\n

Two lawsuits are being brought in the federal court in California as two passengers allege they obtained neck injuries as a result of the incident. Whilst the turbulence was caused by a natural phenomenon that was out of the Airline’s control, the lawsuits suggest that the company should’ve foreseen the thunderstorm and taken appropriate action to avoid flying through it, and therefore allegedly risking everyone on board. <\/p>\n

The lawsuit was brought on the grounds that JetBlue “disregarded” that threat and “chose not to advise its Flight 429 passengers to stay seated with seat belts fastened.”<\/p>\n

The lawsuit describes how one passenger had returned to her seat after using the bathroom but hadn’t put her seat belt on and was consequently thrown into the ceiling by the turbulence, hitting her head.\u00a0Reportedly, instead of warning passengers and crew of the upcoming turbulence, announcements were made after<\/em> the aircraft had already entered the storm and already experiencing violent turbulence.<\/p>\n

Injuries suffered<\/h3>\n

Injured passengers and crew reported the following injuries:<\/p>\n

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