American Airlines has been ordered to pay a couple $11 million after the man suffered a stroke on a flight from the US to Spain in 2021.

A serious failure in the medical care of a passenger. On Wednesday, September 17, American Airlines was ordered to pay $11 million (approximately €9.4 million) to a couple, reports The Independent. A few years earlier, the man suffered a stroke mid-flight.

A first attack before takeoff

The incident took place on November 8, 2021, on a plane from Miami, United States, to Madrid, Spain. The couple had just boarded the plane and were still at the gate when the man, then 67, suffered a transient ischemic attack, a short-term stroke.

Concerned, his wife notified an employee and the pilot. But rather than contacting a doctor as required, the pilot "ignored her concerns, joked with the passenger, and initiated takeoff," the lawsuit, filed in 2023 against the airline, states.

Emergency care after landing

During the flight, the sixty-year-old then suffered a second, much more serious neurological attack. Medical personnel finally intervened, but the plane was not equipped with the necessary equipment to monitor the victim's condition. Once the plane arrived in Madrid, the man was urgently treated and taken to the hospital, where he remained in intensive care for three weeks before being repatriated to the United States.

“Today, he still cannot speak, write, or communicate effectively, let alone walk, feed, bathe, dress, or use the toilet alone,” the complaint states. “He is entirely dependent on daily home care.” The airline was therefore condemned for failing to follow health protocols in place that would have allowed for faster pre-flight care. American Airlines has responded and plans to appeal the decision.