Pummeled United Passenger Suffered Concussion, Broken Nose; Will Likely Sue

The doctor violently booted off a United Continental Holdings Inc UAL suffered a concussion and broken nose and probably will sue the airline and the city of Chicago, his lawyer said Thursday.

"For a long time airlines, United in particular, have bullied us," Thomas Demetrio told a news conference in Chicago. "Will there be a lawsuit? Yeah, probably."

The Event And Aftermath

David Dao, 69, was hospitalized after Chicago aviation police dragged him from an overbooked flight at O’Hare International Airport on Sunday evening to make room for United employees. The flight was bound for Louisville, Kentucky.

Demetrio said that, under the law, passengers can’t be removed from planes with unreasonable force. Three officers were suspended pending an investigation and the incident triggered a global outrage for United and CEO Oscar Munoz, who rejected calls for his resignation.

Passenger video of the incident went viral, particularly in Asia, after it was noted that Dao is a Vietnamese-American. Besides the concussion and broken nose, the bloodied Dao lost his two front teeth and will need reconstructive surgery, his lawyer said.

"What happened to my dad should have never happened to any human being," Crystal Dao Pepper, 33, said of her father. She said her parents were en route home after a vacation in California. Dao's wife managed to exit the plane intact.

Demetrio said Dao told him he was more terrified than when he fled Vietnam in 1975.

United shares dropped 4 percent immediately after the incident and rebounded slightly to remain down less than 1 percent.

United CEO Apologizes To Violently Bumped Passenger After Blaming Him For Disturbance

How United Airlines Can Repair Its Reputation __________ Image Credit: screengrab from CNN