Widower sues airline for €5m over death of obese wife refused seat on three flights

davet82

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/widower-sues-airline-for-5m-over-death-of-obese-wife-refused-seat-on-three-flights-3369264.html

A NEW YORK man whose morbidly obese wife died last year after she was denied space on three flights home from Europe has sued the airlines for €5m.

Vilma Soltesz, who at the time was reported to have weighed 193 kg, had an amputated leg and suffered from diabetes and kidney disease.

She was found dead at her holiday home in Hungary in October after several aircraft crews repeatedly failed to accommodate her size despite telling her they could do so, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan.

The lawsuit accused the three airlines of wrongful death and gross negligence.

Is it not her fault she couldn't fit?


Just so i'm getting this straight they were sued because she died or because they couldn't fit her on the plane?

howamidifferent

Wouldnt she fit in the hold?

SEPT 23 1989

Could they not have sent her by air freight if they were that stuck?

johnmcdnl

Did she offer to pay for the 3 seats she was going to take?

Secondly - how it is the airlines fault anyways?

Any chance to a link to the full story perhaps?

mardybumbum

Is there supposedly some link between her being denied a flight and her subsequent death?

Lando Griffin

She had an amputated leg FFS; how hungry can one get.

CreepingDeath

davet82 wrote: »

Just so i'm getting this straight they were sued because she died or because they couldn't fit her on the plane?

They're going to make a movie out of it... "Cakes on a plane".

davet82

johnmcdnl wrote: »

Did she offer to pay for the 3 seats she was going to take?

Secondly - how it is the airlines fault anyways?

Any chance to a link to the full story perhaps?

sorry forgot link, its there now

mardybumbum

johnmcdnl wrote: »

Did she offer to pay for the 3 seats she was going to take?

Secondly - how it is the airlines fault anyways?

Any chance to a link to the full story perhaps?

Here ya go

Cee-Jay-Cee

Stupid Americans, they like to blame everyone and everyone for their own failings. I can't see the case going very far to be honest. The couple had a holiday home oin Hungary and were obviously there quite a while, Hungary has medical facilities too and so she wasn't denied medical attention. Stupid fat Americans.

staker

If she sat in 3 seats the plane would've been going around in circles all day. Unless she sat in C D and E up front only then she'd have swallowed the whole refreshment trolley and "**** the rest of ye,I'm not going hungry".

seamus

"All we wanted was to come back home to get her treatment,"

That's why when you were told go home and seek treatment immediately, you decided to wait two weeks and finish your holiday. Just fnck right off.

mitosis

What, no pics?

http://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/vilma-soltesz-300x300.jpg

jenniferalan

mitosis wrote: »

What, no pics?

http://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/vilma-soltesz-300x300.jpg

Im sorry now that i clicked that!!

KungPao

Surely they could have tied her to the wing? Although the plane would probably spiral into the ground. Or maybe she should have chartered an Antonov just for herself.

Or perhaps she shouldn't have eaten herself into that condition in the first place.

slarkin123

How did she get there in the first place? I would have thought the airline that brought her over would easily be able to make the same arrangements to bring her back.

SligoLady

"The last attempt, on a Lufthansa plane, ended when they were told to disembark as they were delaying passengers too long.

Vilma, exhausted, was found dead at her holiday home two days later.

Her husband wants answers."

I want to know why the husband is demanding answers when his wife was discovered '2 days later' ..Where the hell was he?? :P

bizmark

Lest you all have a nice political correctness safe chuckle on the internet at the fat women who died far from home

MaxSteele

"Husband wants answers" ... eh because your wife was an unhealthy and morbidly obese mess ?

Stupid americans. No loss.

mardybumbum

bizmark wrote: »

Lest you all have a nice political correctness safe chuckle on the internet at the fat women who died far from home

I have a lot of difficulty in understanding this phenomenon myself.

D1stant

MaxSteele wrote: »

"Husband wants answers" ... eh because your wife was an unhealthy and morbidly obese mess ?

Stupid americans. No loss.

Such profundity, such insight, such wisdom

oldyouth

slarkin123 wrote: »

How did she get there in the first place? I would have thought the airline that brought her over would easily be able to make the same arrangements to bring her back.

She might have had a large salad in the meantime

up for anything

Why don't people take the time to read the article properly before commenting? :rolleyes:

johnmcdnl wrote: »

Did she offer to pay for the 3 seats she was going to take?

It was three flights she was refused on. There appears to have been no issue with paying for the two seats she was going to use if the flight out was anything to go by.

SligoLady wrote: »

I want to know why the husband is demanding answers when his wife was discovered '2 days later' ..Where the hell was he?? :P

Read it again, just read it! :rolleyes:


The mockery and contempt displayed here for the woman because she was obese is sad.

inforfun

slarkin123 wrote: »

How did she get there in the first place? I would have thought the airline that brought her over would easily be able to make the same arrangements to bring her back.

It is in the link.
They got there with Delta.
Also tried to go back to the States with Delta but Delta didnt have a skylift to load her on board.
The other 2,Lufthansa and KLM told her to get lost after trying to get her on board which didnt really work and caused delays.
And those are the 2 that are being sued.

Gummy Panda

This was probably how her diet worked.

193kg is an insane amount. I'm surprised she was allowed fly

I read elsewhere but can't find it now that she wanted to go back for treatment in the states as she didn't trust the local doctors.

You wonder how a person can let themselves go so far.

seamus

Gummy Panda wrote: »

This was probably how her diet worked.

193kg is an insane amount. I'm surprised she was allowed fly

193kg is two 95kg individuals (slightly overweight for a six-foot man). So not that much from a plane's point of view, and she was required to pay for two seats.

Gummy Panda

seamus wrote: »

193kg is two 85kg individuals (fairly normal weight for a six-foot man). So not that much from a plane's point of view, and she was required to pay for two seats.

No I meant in regards to herself, pressure changes and the prolonged periods in confined space. If the amputation is due to the obesity, then there is probably circulation issues as well.

squod

davet82 wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/widower-sues-airline-for-5m-over-death-of-obese-wife-refused-seat-on-three-flights-3369264.html

Just so i'm getting this straight they were sued because she died or because they couldn't fit her on the plane?

Not surprised you're confused OP. That article was obviously written by an idiot someone with no appreciation for journalism.


http://www.businessinsider.com/janos-soltesz-suing-for-wifes-death-2012-11

The Solteszs spent three weeks in their native Hungary before Vilma needed to come back for treatment for diabetes and renal disease.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating Vilma's death, according to the Post.
But Lufthansa is telling a much different story.
"Of course nobody said she was too fat to fly home," spokesman Nils Haupt told Business Insider.
The airline says it actually reserved three seats for Vilma, who had to be brought onboard the plane by a special lift. But once she was on the aircraft, Haupt says, it was impossible to move her from her wheelchair to her plane seats.
"There was not the slightest idea how to move her out of the wheelchair without hurting her," Haupt said.
Crews tried to move Vilma for about 30 minutes before she was taken off the plane, according to Haupt.
In a statement sent to Business Insider, KLM said it was "deeply saddended" by Vilma's death but that when she tried to fly home it appeared "it was not physically possible for her to board the aircraft, despite every effort made by KLM to this end. A seat or belt extender did not offer a solution either."
In a statement emailed to Business Insider, Delta spokesman Russell Cason said the airline was "physically unable to board" Vilma on a flight.
However, both Delta and KLM "did everything possible to assist the family."

stevenmu

It looks like they were willing to accomodate her, and in all 3 cases had 2 seats set aside for her. But in all 3 cases she wasn't physically able to get to her seats, and they didn't have the specialist equipment to carry her to them.

Lapin

The irony of her dying in Hungary.

Tipsy McSwagger

I wash myself with a rag on a stick.

SligoLady

up for anything wrote: »

Why don't people take the time to read the article properly before commenting?
Read it again, just read it!

Whoops, just realised what I did there!! Cringe!

squod

stevenmu wrote: »

It looks like they were willing to accomodate her, and in all 3 cases had 2 seats set aside for her. But in all 3 cases she wasn't physically able to get to her seats, and they didn't have the specialist equipment to carry her to them.

Realistically she needed an air ambulance.

No comment on excess baggage? Really?

suicide_circus

Not the airlines fault. She couldnt get out of the wheelchair into the seat and they couldnt move her, they can hardly have been expexted to bring a fork lift into the cabin.

Neyite

If she was ill, her travel insurance should have flown her home in an air ambulance. But, flying with circulatory ailments or other conditions can be dangerous too.

She was over 30 stone. Should the airlines have to provide hoists in the plane itself to get her from the wheelchair to the seats? What if she needed the bathroom? its a long haul flight after all, and she was bound to have needed it. She needed specialist medical equipment and medical attendants in an air ambulance, not a commercial airline.

squod

suicide_circus wrote: »

Not the airlines fault. She couldnt get out of the wheelchair into the seat and they couldnt move her, they can hardly have been expexted to bring a fork lift into the cabin.

Think the woman had an agreement and made arrangements for herself with the airline. Don't think it was good enough for the airlines to try and fail. The issue should have been reported, escallated and a resolution (if possible) found.


Feel sorry for her husband and family. Treatment in the US was a matter of life and death.

seamus

I imagine many of the larger airports in the US actually now have specialist equipment for super fatties, that you won't get anywhere else in the world.

My suspicion is that the only outcome of this court case will be a refusal by airlines to carry hyperobese people on international flights. Or a refusal by airports to accomodate them.

squod wrote:

The issue should have been reported, escallated and a resolution (if possible) found.

By all accounts, all of the airlines involved were doing their utmost to find a resolution to the issue, but you can't leave a full plane on the tarmac indefinitely while you come up with a solution. It's just unfortunate that she died before a solution could be found. In reality she should have attended a hospital in Hungary when she knew that she wasn't getting out on schedule.

hollypink

squod wrote: »

The issue should have been reported, escallated and a resolution (if possible) found.

But how do you know that didn't happen and the reality was that there was no possible resolution? I don't see how this is the airline's fault. If she was too ill to get to her seat, what on earth could the airline have done?

On a side note, it's scary that according to the CDC

More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese.

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

jester77

I wonder if they intentionally meant to go to Hungary, or did the husband ask "Where shall we go on holidays?" and she replied "I'm hungry".

Capt'n Midnight

Gummy Panda wrote: »

No I meant in regards to herself, pressure changes and the prolonged periods in confined space. If the amputation is due to the obesity, then there is probably circulation issues as well.

It's probable that the amputation was due to diabetes which was due to obesity.
Unless she was a smoker because that's another leading cause of amputations.

Or it could have been an accident, but regardless it drastically reduced her mobility and were there a plane crash she'd have real problems evacuating the aircraft.


As for her using an air ambulance would she have had difficulties in getting on board a learjet ?


It would be interesting to see how much it cost / would have cost the airline for her delay in seating.



If she was seriously engaged in dieting or other weight loss program / lifestyle program even at that late stage then I've every sympathy for her.

SEPT 23 1989

They could have done a Dam Busters on her and bounced her across the Atlantic

CJC999

CJC999 wrote: »

Stupid Americans, they like to blame everyone and everyone for their own failings. I can't see the case going very far to be honest. The couple had a holiday home oin Hungary and were obviously there quite a while, Hungary has medical facilities too and so she wasn't denied medical attention. Stupid fat Americans.

MaxSteele wrote: »

"Husband wants answers" ... eh because your wife was an unhealthy and morbidly obese mess ?

Stupid americans. No loss.

well done, every american is stupid/fat just like every Irish person is a terrorist and or an alcoholic

Wibbs

hollypink wrote: »

On a side note, it's scary that according to the CDC



http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

According to a government study last year(IIRC) nearly 60% of Irish adults are overweight or obese(men growing more than women). You don't tend to get the mad extremes here compared to the US, but we're not that skinny ourselves. Read something in the Sunday Times at the weekend that we've gotten so used to this slow creep of the pounds, that we tend to underestimate people's weight, we think them slimmer than they actually are. Our skinny/average/fat yardsticks have changed.

E.S.T.

CJC999 wrote: »

Stupid Americans, they like to blame everyone and everyone for their own failings. I can't see the case going very far to be honest. The couple had a holiday home oin Hungary and were obviously there quite a while, Hungary has medical facilities too and so she wasn't denied medical attention. Stupid fat Americans.

MaxSteele wrote: »

"Husband wants answers" ... eh because your wife was an unhealthy and morbidly obese mess ?

Stupid americans. No loss.

Lapin wrote: »

The irony of her dying in Hungary.

jester77 wrote: »

I wonder if they intentionally meant to go to Hungary, or did the husband ask "Where shall we go on holidays?" and she replied "I'm hungry".

They were originally from Hungary

seamus wrote: »

I imagine many of the larger airports in the US actually now have specialist equipment for super fatties, that you won't get anywhere else in the world.

In Europe the equipment is called a ferry or train but obviously there is no obese people in Europe.......

Neyite

Neyite wrote: »

If she was ill, her travel insurance should have flown her home in an air ambulance. But, flying with circulatory ailments or other conditions can be dangerous too.

Would travel insurance have covered her? She had pre-existing conditions and I can't imagine any doctor would have told her travelling was without risk.

HTML5!

She weighted 193kg....even with one leg missing!! F*ck me!

I find it really difficult to sympathise/empathise with such a grotesque, self inflicted lifestyle.

It's ironic he's suing for gross negligence - exactly what he and his wife are also guilty of in my opinion.

hollypink

Wibbs wrote: »

According to a government study last year(IIRC) nearly 60% of Irish adults are overweight or obese(men growing more than women). You don't tend to get the mad extremes here compared to the US, but we're not that skinny ourselves. Read something in the Sunday Times at the weekend that we've gotten so used to this slow creep of the pounds, that we tend to underestimate people's weight, we think them slimmer than they actually are. Our skinny/average/fat yardsticks have changed.

ah yeah, it's no secret that we aren't that far behind the US in terms of the obesity crisis. But that 60% figure isn't that meaningful I think because there is a big difference between someone who is (for example) a few pounds overweight and someone who is obese. As far as I know, it's very difficult to turn things around once you're in the obese category, which I suppose is what happened to this woman.

seamus

E.S.T. wrote: »

In Europe the equipment is called a ferry or train but obviously there is no obese people in Europe.......

I'm not sure if that's a jab or just the lack of tone in the text medium, but while Europe is getting heavier (Ireland and the UK particularly badly as Wibbs mentions), we still don't have the same level of morbid to hyper obesity that's seen in the states.

This may be because in the US being obese is both enabled and accommodated for by service providers, but not so much over here - if you're too fat, go get the train. But most likely it's just a delay effect because the figures indicate that we're well on our way.

Though there does seem to be something of an anti-fat sentiment on the rise. Whereas refusing to accommodate a fat passenger may have led to bad PR in the past, nowadays taking a hardline on massively obese people is as likely to get you a slap on the back as it is to get you a smack in the face.

E.S.T.

seamus wrote: »

I'm not sure if that's a jab or just the lack of tone in the text medium, but while Europe is getting heavier (Ireland and the UK particularly badly as Wibbs mentions), we still don't have the same level of morbid to hyper obesity that's seen in the states.

This may be because in the US being obese is both enabled and accommodated for by service providers, but not so much over here - if you're too fat, go get the train. But most likely it's just a delay effect because the figures indicate that we're well on our way.

Though there does seem to be something of an anti-fat sentiment on the rise. Whereas refusing to accommodate a fat passenger may have led to bad PR in the past, nowadays taking a hardline on massively obese people is as likely to get you a slap on the back as it is to get you a smack in the face.

Ireland also doesn't have African Americans, Native Americans, Mexicans, Pacific Islanders, etc, all of who are extremely fat and either don't care or like to be big. What group is there in Ireland that sees obesity as a positive?