American Airlines Ordered to Pay $13.2 Million To Passenger Who Suffered Stroke Mid-Flight Because Crew Didn’t Follow Medical Procedures

Jesus Plasencia was left in a critical condition after he suffered a massive stroke just an hour and a half into a transatlantic American Airlines flight to Madrid in November 2021. He is still unable to speak, write, or walk and has to have round-the-clock assistance to do everyday activities like bathing, going to the toilet, or even eating.

Nearly four years after the fateful flight that would change his life forever, a California jury has ruled that American Airlines must pay Jesus and his wife $13.2 million in damages and expenses to cover ongoing medical care after finding the crew failed to follow industry standards.

The incident occurred on November 8, 2021, when Plasencia and his wife were traveling with American Airlines from San Francisco to Madrid, which included a layover in Miami to change planes.

The first cross-country flight passed off without any problems, but after Jesus and his wife, Marcela Tavantzis, had boarded the second plane and before it departed, Jesus briefly felt unwell and “experienced a sudden inability to pick up his phone and began speaking gibberish”.

Marcela feared her husband was having a stroke and immediately called over a flight attendant, but by the time the crew arrived, Jesus had seemingly fully recovered and had no memory of what had just happened.

Jesus and Marcela claimed the flight attendant didn’t appear to take the situation seriously, although, according to American Airlines, the crew member did offer to call for medical assistance and gave the couple the opportunity to deplane – offers that the couple rejected.

The flight attendant also called the Captain to assess the situation and warned Jesus and his wife that it would be harder to offer medical assistance if anything happened once the plane was flying over the Atlantic.

The Captain personally spoke with Jesus and concluded there was no reason to have the couple booted from the flight.

Around an hour and a half into the flight, one of the flight attendants noticed Jesus stumble in the aisle as he went to use the bathroom. An indicator, the lawsuit claimed, that at this point, Jesus was experiencing a stroke and urgently required medical attention.

The flight attendant did not, however, think there was any reason to intervene and went about their job.

It was only when the plane was around one hour away from landing that the flight attendants became concerned when they noticed Jesus was drooling. They called for the assistance of an off-duty medical professional, and several doctors responded to their request for help.

The off-duty doctors feared that Jesus was suffering a stroke and asked for emergency responders to be waiting to meet the aircraft on arrival in Madrid.

Jesus was rushed by ambulance to the Ramon y Cajal Hospital, close to Madrid Barajas Airport, but by this point, he had already suffered life-changing injuries.

The couple sued American Airlines under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, which makes airlines liable for injuries sustained by passengers due to an ‘accident’ during an international flight.

It was up to the jury to decide whether the actions of the flight crew on flight AA-68 constituted an accident or whether, in fact, it was the deliberate or negligent actions of Jesus and his wife that led to his injuries.

American Airlines argued in court that while Marcela had confided in family members via text message that she thought her husband had suffered a mini-stroke before flight 68 departed, she never shared this information with the crew.

Without any other evidence to suggest that Jesus was suffering a stroke, the airline’s attorneys argued that ‘minor deviations’ from internal policies and procedures could not be considered an accident.

Last week, a Northern California jury rejected that argument.

While the jury found that the actions of Jesus and Marcela contributed to his injuries, the crew’s deviations from American Airlines’ policies did amount to an ‘accident’ for the purposes of the Montreal Convention.

As a result, American Airlines was found to be 72.5% responsible for Jesus’ injuries. Damages awarded by the jury include $6.58 million for future medical and caregiving costs, $3.2 million for future mental anguish and suffering, $800,000 for past mental anguish, and $699,861 for past medical costs.

In addition, the jury awarded Marcela, $1 million for loss of companionship.