Woman sues Delta Airlines, others after falling down Gulfport-Biloxi airport escalator
A California woman has filed a lawsuit after she fell down an escalator at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.
Ret Quach, of San Jose, names Delta Airlines, the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport Authority, an aviation support contractor and others in her suit, filed this month in Harrison County Circuit Court. She is seeking compensation for the injuries she sustained, including a fractured left wrist.
The suit says a family member asked Delta Airlines for wheelchair assistance when they bought Quach’s plane ticket, because she has difficulty walking and is a fall risk. But no assistance was given March 26 when Quach arrived for a 6 a.m. flight, the suit claims.
The suit says Quach, who does not speak English, checked in at the Delta ticket counter and waited for a wheelchair. When it didn’t arrive, Quach attempted to communicate with a Delta employee, who motioned for her to proceed to her gate. But there she was instructed to return to the ticket counter to check her suitcase. That’s when she fell on the escalator, falling to the bottom.
Eventually, airport medics arrived and turned off the escalator. The medics took her in a wheelchair back to the Delta ticket counter and later to the gate. According to the suit, no one offered her medical treatment even though she was “clearly hurt.”
Upon getting home, the suit says, Quach was diagnosed with a fractured left wrist and injuries to her head, face and fingers. She had surgery on her wrist on March 30 and continues to experience “chronic, debilitating pain” since the accident.
The suit claims Delta Airlines, the airport authority and the contractor, Sky Chief Aviation Support, had a duty to keep its passengers safe.
None of the defendants have yet responded to Quach’s suit. Airport Executive Director Clay Williams said Tuesday he is aware of the claim, but hasn’t yet been served with the suit.
