Connecticut mayor sues Delta Airlines over dog bite

Associated Press
Updated ·1 min read
FILE - In this July 12, 2018 file photo, Democratic candidate for governor, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, speaks during a gubernatorial debate in New Haven, Conn. The New Haven Register reports that Ganim filed suit in state Superior Court against Delta Airlines over a dog bite he says he suffered on a flight in 2018. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Bridgeport’s mayor is suing Delta Airlines over a dog bite he says he suffered on a flight.

A suit filed in state Superior Court alleges Mayor Joe Ganim was sitting in his seat on a Delta flight in November 2018 when he was bitten by a dog that was accompanying a boarding passenger.

The New Haven Register reports the suit alleges Ganim suffered “serious, severe, painful and permanent injuries” to his lower left leg and that he was forced to undergo a series of rabies shots because the airline didn’t provide details on the dog’s medical history or contact information for the animal's owner.

Delta "failed to safeguard the plaintiff from unwarranted harm by allowing a dog neither crated nor muzzled to walk freely on and within the cabin of the plane,” according to the suit.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Delta didn’t respond to requests for comment by the newspaper.

In March 2018, Delta issued rules requiring passengers to provide proof of animal training and the animal’s immunization records before allowing them to board a plane with a dog, according to the newspaper.