Five American Airlines flight attendants who suffered horrendous side effects from a ‘toxic’ work uniform have been collectively awarded more than $18 million by a California jury following a seven-year legal battle.
The five crew members were part of what is known as a ‘bellwether’ case to test whether more than 400 other flight attendants who sued American Airlines and its uniform manufacturer, Twin Hill, can have their day in court.
The case focused on the shirts and aprons that were designed and manufactured by Twin Hill during a botched uniform rollout in September 2016 that left some crew members with crippling health problems.
Earlier this week, the jury in the Alameda Superior Court in Northern California concluded that Twin Hill supplied uniform items that failed “to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would have expected them to perform when used or misused in a reasonably foreseeable way.”
The jury found that this, in turn, was a “substantial factor” in causing harm to the flight attendants and that Twin Hill was both negligent in supplying the shirts and aprons and negligent in failing to recall these uniform items after flight attendants reported concerns.
The plaintiffs were awarded compensation for past and future economic loss, physical pain, and mental suffering.
Virginia Hardy was awarded $203,500 for past economic losses after the health effects she experienced from the Twin Hill uniform left her unable to work. She was also awarded $229,283 for future economic losses, $2 million for past physical and mental suffering, and $1.5 million for future suffering.
The total compensation amount for the five flight attendants came to $18.6 million, with Twin Hill held liable for 90% of the payout and American Airlines the remaining 10%.
The stunning legal win for these five flight attendants in California comes just weeks after a court in Chicago issued a summary judgment in favor of American Airlines and Twin Hill.
The decision effectively ends any prospect of making ‘toxic uniform’ claims in Illinois after U.S. District Judge John Tharp Jr concluded that a slew of expert witnesses were unable to prove that the uniforms had caused the various health complaints reported by hundreds of flight attendants.
While the Illinois court accepted that flight attendants had suffered a variety of health conditions, including rashes, hives, breathing difficulties, and other significant medical issues, there wasn’t enough admissible evidence to link this to the Twin Hill uniforms.
The Alameda Superior Court has, however, taken a very different view after the first bellwether case in 2023 awarded more than $1 million in compensation over the scandal.
The toxic uniform story can be traced back to 2015 when American Airlines partnered with Twin Hill to produce a new line of uniforms for 65,000 pilots, flight attendants, and customer service agents.
Initial wear tests with a small group of employees highlighted potential skin reactions to the garments, but independent scientific testing of the material didn’t find anything conclusive.
A second wear test in the fall of 2015 resulted in some employees reporting a chemical-like smell from the uniforms, but again, the testing company said that the chemicals found in the garments lacked irritation potential.
Having been given the all-clear, American Airlines rolled out its new uniform in September 2016.
It wasn’t long, however, before the carrier was inundated with complaints from employees about their new threads via a special hotline and webpage created by flight attendant unions.
Lawyers representing some flight attendants in California allege the uniforms were contaminated with formaldehyde – a strong-smelling chemical that can cause various breathing issues.
Independent chemical testing of the uniforms also revealed the presence of 15 other chemicals that have been “known to cause dermatological, respiratory, neurologic and allergenic/immunological conditions.”
By early 2017, American Airlines was forced to allow flight attendants to start wearing off-the-rack clothing, although some crew members said they continued to be affected just from being in close proximity to coworkers who continued to wear the Twin Hill-supplied uniforms.
In the end, American Airlines ditched Twin Hill as its uniform supplier and partnered with Lands’ End. American Airlines continues to deny any liability.
