Traveler Sues Delta Air Over Flight Delay That Meant She Was Too Late To Authorize a Life-Saving Operation For Her Father

A traveler who booked a last-minute Delta Air Lines flight to Brazil so that she could be with her critically ill father and authorize a life-saving operation is suing the carrier after a flight delay and booking mixup meant she got to the hospital too late.

Marcia Bayer was at her home in Harrison County, Texas, on December 26, 2024, when she received the horrible news that her father had been rushed to the hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Her father required life-saving surgery, but, according to a recently filed lawsuit in a Texas district court, with her father so sick that he couldn’t give personal consent, the hospital could only go ahead with the operation if it was authorized by one of his children… in person.

Marcia rushed to book the first available ticket she could find, which was with Delta, leaving from Dallas Fort Worth and connecting through Atlanta to get to Rio de Janeiro on the morning of December 29.

Before she even got on the first plane to Atlanta, however, Delta sent a notification saying there was a mechanical problem with the plane and that she would now be rerouted via Atlanta and then São Paulo before eventually arriving in the early afternoon of December 29.

But on arrival in São Paulo, Marcia says Delta had messed up her ticket, and despite holding a boarding pass for the short 40-minute flight to Rio de Janeiro, she was denied boarding because her name wasn’t showing on the passenger manifest.

Desperate to get to her father’s bedside, Marcia begged the airline staff of Delta’s partner carrier in Brazil, but they weren’t able to change or do anything until Delta fixed the alleged mistake on its end.

Marcia went to the Delta customer service desk but discovered it was closed.

Out of any other options, Marcia booked a new flight at an additional cost of $675, but this would now get her into Rio de Janeiro at 6 pm.

By the time she eventually got to the hospital, her father’s condition had tragically worsened. At this point, doctors warned Marcia that the surgery would be very high-risk.

Still, Marcia went ahead and gave approval for the operation to take place, but before it could be arranged, her father passed away.

The question now is whether Delta should be held responsible for the delay in Marcia getting to her father’s bedside. Can the airline be found to have been negligent in not getting Marcia to the hospital any sooner, or be made to pay for emotional damages?

As you might expect, lawyers acting on behalf of Delta contend that, no, the airline isn’t responsible and that the carrier fulfilled its end of the contract, despite the fact that Marcia’s arrival in Rio was delayed.

That being said, a response from Delta to the lawsuit does accept that Marcia could potentially make a claim for the delay under the Montreal Convention, which is an international treaty that governs passenger rights for international flights.

In that case, however, she would be limited to claiming a maximum of 5,346 Special Drawing Rights, which is equivalent to around $7,670 – far less than the $250,000 that Marcia is seeking for emotional distress.