United Airlines is hit by $75,000 lawsuit after six-year-old girl was 'left disfigured by severe burns when unreasonably hot food slid off defective tray table' while on flight from Israel to Newark
- The Israeli couple claim the tray table in front of their daughter was faulty, causing the meal to slide onto her lap, burning her
- They further allege that the crew aboard the plane were ill-prepared to treat the girl's injuries, leaving her in pain for the duration of the 12-hour flight
An Israeli couple is suing United Airlines after their child was badly burned during a flight due to faulty equipment on the plane.
Ben and Michal Fefferman say their daughter, 6, identified in the suit only as 'O.F.' was severely burned and left 'disfigured' by an 'unreasonably hot' meal that was being served.
The parents allege that on the flight from Tel Aviv to Newark, New Jersey, the child's tray table malfunctioned, causing the hot food to slide off its surface and onto the six-year-old's lap.
The family is suing for $75,000.
A family is suing United Airlines for $75,000, claiming their daughter was severely burned aboard a flight due to the airline's negligence and that the crew were not adequately prepared to handle the situation
The little girl allegedly left 'disfigured' after being burned by a hot meal that slid onto her lap during a flight from Tel Aviv to Newark
According to the Fefferman's general allegations, the airline was 'responsible for maintaining the aircraft.'
It was the company's duty to 'exercise reasonable care in the operation of the Flight, including the provision of food to passengers, access to safe and/or sturdy tray tables, maintenance of tray tables, access to medical devices and/or care for reasonably foreseeable harms, and/or to warn passengers of defective equipment such as tray tables.'
Ben alleges that after the hot food spilled onto his daughter, burning her, he requested immediate medical attention from the crew.
However, flight attendants, he claims, 'were unable to provide adequate care, partly because United did not equip the aircraft used for the Flight with reasonable medical supplies to treat burn injuries.'
Because of their woeful unpreparedness, his daughter 'suffered in extreme discomfort for the remainder of the 12-hour flight.'
Due to the negligence, which the couple has branded a breach of duty by the airline, 'O.F. was seriously injured and is seeking past and future non-economic damages for her injuries, burns, disfigurement, scarring, discoloration, neurological deficits, impairment, pain, suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience, humiliation, embarrassment, and the loss of ability to enjoy her life, which she has experienced in the past and/or will continue to experience in the future.'
The $75,000, in addition to being compensatory, will go toward any medical care required by the six-year-old as a result of the incident, which occurred in 2022.
The family claim that the seatback tray their daughter was using was faulty, causing the 'unreasonably hot' food to spill all over her
The suit was filed in US District Court in Chicago.
The Feffermans are claiming the airline was negligent and is liable for damages under the Montreal Convention, which stipulates that airlines are liable for injuries sustained by passengers, unless the company can prove the passengers were negligent.
The family has asked for a jury trial.
