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The grieving husband of an obese woman who lost her life because three airlines sent her on a wild “goose chase” to find her way back to the U.S. for treatment has quietly settled his $6 million wrongful death lawsuit against the companies, reports the New York Daily News.
New Yorker Vilma Soltesz was in Hungary on holiday when she fell ill in October 2012. A Hungarian doctor cleared her to fly back to the USA so she could be treated by her own doctor.
But Vilma and her husband Janos weren’t able to find an airline that would take her on the flight, despite trying three airlines.
They initially tried Dutch airline KLM, but the seats were broken on the plane and Vilma couldn’t safely get into them. They were then told they could get a Delta Airlines flight from Prague, but the company did not have the proper wheelchair.
Finally an attempt to board a Lufthansa flight was aborted when the captain asked them to leave the plane because other passengers had connections and they couldn’t afford a delay.
As a travel agent attempted to find them a fourth flight home, Vilma died at the couple’s Hungarian vacation home.
The 184-kilogram woman, who used a wheelchair and had one partially amputated leg, initially flew from the USA to Hungary without incident.
Mr Soltesz lawsuit said the airlines caused her death, via their “willful, wanton and reckless disregard” for Vilma’s safety, and that they “intentionally refused to make the proper accommodations for her.”
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, and none of the parties made a public comment.
Agencies/Canadajournal
Let me see if I have this straight: On 17 Sept. 2012 Wilma Soltesz, a morbidly obese woman with several medical problems (including an amputated leg) flew to Budapest. She was already so large that she required two seats. While in Hungary, her health deteriorated to the point that she sought medical attention at a Budapest hospital on 2 October. The hospital did not admit her but advised her to consult her American doctor as soon as she returned to the U.S. Two weeks later, her health having continued to deteriorate (see photos) and her weight to increase to 407 pounds, three airlines attempted to board her for a return to the U.S. All failed. Either Mrs. Soltesz could not be loaded onto an airplane without use of a catering lift truck or, having been loaded, she could not be secured in a row of seats. The last attempt was on 22 October. After this, Mrs. Soltesz returned to her vacation home in Hungary, did not seek further medical help or admittance to a hospital and died on 24 October.
Obviously, this is the airlines’ fault.