Lawyer says man dragged off plane has concussion, lost teeth

CHICAGO (AP) — The passenger dragged from a United Express flight suffered a “significant” concussion and broken nose, and he lost two front teeth, one of his lawyers said Thursday.

Dr. David Dao has been discharged from a hospital but he will require reconstructive surgery, said attorney Thomas Demetrio, whose law firm is representing the 69-year-old Kentucky physician.

Dao was removed from the plane Sunday after he refused to give up his seat on the full flight from Chicago to Louisville to make room for four crew members. In widely distributed cellphone video , Dao can be seen being pulled from his seat and dragged away by airport police officers, his face bloodied.

One of Dao’s five children, Crystal Pepper, said the family was “horrified, shocked and sickened” to learn and see what happened. She said seeing her father removed from the Sunday flight was “exacerbated” by the fact it was caught on video.

Demetrio indicated he will be filing a lawsuit on Dao’s behalf, adding that airlines — and United in particular — have long “bullied” passengers by overbooking flights and then bumping customers. He said the treatment of Dao was particularly violent, but “it took something like this to get a conversation going.”

“They have treated us less than maybe we deserve,” Demetrio said. “Are we going to continue to be treated like cattle?”

The incident has become a public-relations nightmare for United and led to the suspension of the three police officers, who work for the Chicago Department of Aviation, which is a city-run agency.

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz, who issued a public apology two days after first blaming Dao, has said he was “ashamed” when he saw the video. He promised the company will review its policies and that law enforcement will no longer be allowed to remove passengers.

United also announced that passengers on United Express Flight 3411 would be compensated with cash, travel credits or miles in an amount equal to the cost of their tickets.

Demetrio said Thursday he and his client accept the apology, but that it seemed “staged” and like it was issued because the airline was taking a public relations “beating.”