You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Woman with no limbs sues Air France
2004-08-14
A woman sued Air France in federal court Friday, saying an employee told her she could not board a flight because she has no limbs. Adele Price, 42, who was born with birth defects caused by the leprosy treatment drug thalidomide, said at a news conference the employee told her that "one head, one bottom and one torso cannot and will not be allowed to fly on Air France" without help.
It wasn't as if she was going to charge the cockpit. Or hide a bomb in a shoe.
Price claims she suffered emotional and psychological damage and endured large expenses to complete a trip from Manchester, England, to New York on Aug. 19, 2000. Price said she paid someone to fly with her and eventually completed the trip. In England, Price had been told by an Air France agent that she would need clearance from an American doctor to return home, according to the lawsuit. When Price provided that clearance to an Air France agent in New York, she was asked for additional medical clearance, which forced her to stay in the United States another five days and cancel all the business she had intended on the trip, the lawsuit said. She eventually bought a ticket on British Airways, which let her travel alone. Chris Maio, a spokeswoman for Air France, declined to comment.
So much for the French being the enlightened ones.
Posted by:Steve White

#12  Not much leprosy in Europe or the U.S. in the 1950s. Thalidomide was prescribed for morning sickness.
Posted by: Grunter   2004-08-14 7:02:38 PM  

#11  It must really suck to have no limbs.
Posted by: Seafarious   2004-08-14 6:58:17 PM  

#10  OK - I'll be un-PC - we have so many situations where unrealistic expectations are imposed on existing facilities...... my Dad ended up in a wheelchair (brain tumor) but as a civil engineer (same as me, and AP) he noted that the demand for accomodations clearly exceeded the need, and only the noisy would get the accomodation. Lately, the immediate needs have been subsceded (?) to the legally-represented, with too much of needed re-contruction funs paying professional litigators and their professional clients.
Posted by: Frank G   2004-08-14 6:49:02 PM  

#9  Far be it from me to defend the French but what are we talking here. A transatlantic flight. Would someone have had to carry her on and off the plane, fasten her seatbealt, help her eat? Would a steward have been expected to pick the lady up and carry her to the bathroom?

Then there is the liability because the seatbelts are designed for someone with legs and may not work as well. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before I'm gonna pile onto Air France on this one. Certainly they were barberous about the whole thing, but they are French.
Posted by: Yank   2004-08-14 6:24:57 PM  

#8  Woman with no limbs; French with no brains -- sounds like its evenly matched.
Posted by: Capt America   2004-08-14 3:40:57 PM  

#7  LOL AC!

If she's still around we are having a softball game this evening and still need a second (base).
Posted by: Shipman   2004-08-14 1:14:31 PM  

#6  Big Sarge---I live in Eagle River, Alaska, up the South Fork valley.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2004-08-14 12:23:56 PM  

#5  Where are you at in Alaska, Ak Paul?
Posted by: Big Sarge   2004-08-14 5:18:52 AM  

#4  I bet she loses, not being able to leave the plane in an emergency unaided is enough.

Zenster comments are right on.
Posted by: Flamebait93268   2004-08-14 5:16:43 AM  

#3  Most French people think this woman's lawsuit doesn't have a leg to stand on. Far from being cut off at the knees, I 'll go out on a (phantom) limb and wager that her complaint is on solid footing.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-08-14 5:06:25 AM  

#2  Air Phrog has to work at being that dumb and insensitive. Boggles the mind!
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2004-08-14 1:28:51 AM  

#1  ....but she raised her voice and they ran up a white flag.
She was obviously unarmed (dodges rotten veggies), but the Froggistanis don't care if you're a terrorist, they just care how easily they can insult you.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2004-08-14 1:18:26 AM  

00:00