On a Southwest flight from Kansas City to Fort Lauderdale, wheelchair-bound passenger Eugene Dreyer suffered life-ending injuries when he was ejected from his seat belt. His family has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Texas-based airline alleging carelessness and negligence on the part of the airline’s employees.

The Kansas City Star reports on the details of the injuries Dreyer sustained after a flight attendant buckled him in using a seat belt extender, “As the plane landed and began to decelerate, the belt failed to restrain him and he flew forward in the bulkhead wall. Eugene Dreyer hit his head, leg, foot, shoulder, and other parts of his body onto the front bulkhead wall.” The wrongful death lawsuit filed by his widow and two children alleges that a loss of cognitive functions and severe depression followed during the time between the injuries and his death a month later.

Airlines have been making some wrongful death headlines of late, take a look at some of our recent blogs on this topic:

• An in-flight death leads to wrongful death lawsuit against Virgin Airlines
• Alaska Airlines hit with a wrongful death lawsuit

Airplane injuries can take many forms and a malfunctioning seat belt is certainly at the top of that lists. The potential problem with a seat belt claim is that the room for user error. In the case of Dreyer the lawsuit fights against this potential defense by pointing out that it was the flight attendant and not Dreyer that actually put his seat belt on. Dealing with a death of this nature is never easy and while a wrongful death lawsuit can never bring the deceased loved one back it can help with the financial loss the family is suffering. Additionally, a wrongful death lawsuit against a company (in this case, Southwest airlines) can also help impact a positive change. Perhaps their seat belt extenders are  faulty or perhaps they need to double check to make sure these important restrains are properly functioning. If you have been injured on an airplane or airport in California, get in touch with Walch Law today to discuss your case further. We can help get you compensated for your injuries and much more. We are available 24/7 so do not hesitate to call us today.