JetBlue passenger suffers ‘broken ankle’ on flight to Bahamas after she ‘traps foot in seatbelt and flips onto back’
A JETBLUE passenger saw their vacation get turbulent after reportedly breaking their ankle while on a flight, a new lawsuit claims.
The passenger is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from the airline, claiming JetBlue failed to provide proper aid after the incident.
The lawsuit, obtained by Fox News, was filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York in early July.
It points to a July 23, 2022 flight when Maria Mistretta and her husband Salvator Mistretta were flying from John F. Kennedy airport in New York to Nassau, Bahamas.
At one point during the flight, Maria got up from her seat and attempted to step into the aisle, the lawsuit recounts.
As Maria attempted to walk in the aisle, her foot was entangled in a “hanging seatbelt,” which allegedly caused her to fall backwards and twist and crack her foot.
The lawsuit claims the passenger fell right on her back with the foot still entangled.
It goes on to say that Maria’s husband and a nearby passenger who was identified as a nurse gave immediate assistance to get her back in the seat.
Similar attention was not given by the flight crew, the lawsuit claims.
“Plaintiffs asked members of the flight crew for a first aid kit and ice, but they were told by crewmembers that everything was packed up and inaccessible for the remainder of the flight,” the lawsuit reads.
Maria and her husband were also informed they would have to wait for all other passengers to exit the plane before they would be able to, despite reportedly being seated in the second row.
Upon disembarking, the lawsuit claims that the only wheelchair made available for Maria was broken and did not have proper support for the newly injured leg.
Once in the Nassau airport, the couple claimed they were discouraged from going to a nearby hospital and instead told to fly back to New York.
They claim they were denied additional assistance throughout this process, even after asking for ice and a bandage before and after boarding the flight back to JFK.
Once back in New York, Maria and her husband traveled to the emergency room where they discovered she suffered from “serious bodily injuries” during the incident.
This included a right ankle fracture, deep vein thrombosis and aggravation of an old back injury.
As a direct and proximate result of the acts and/or omissions of JetBlue and its agents, servants and/or employees, plaintiff Maria Mistretta sustained significant permanent and disabling injuries
July lawsuit filed against JetBlue
A deep vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot develops in a vein in your body and can cause other serious conditions like a pulmonary embolism.
JetBlue did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
The lawsuit claims that broken ankle and fall that occurred on the July 2022 flight was a direct result of “acts and/or omissions of JetBlue and its staff.
The lawsuit has blasted the airline for allegedly failing to provide “adequate attention or assistance” over the incident, which it claims caused the serious injures and suffering.
The couple is seeking $170,000 in damages over the accident and are seeking a jury trial.
The Mistretta’s attorney did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.