The lawyer representing Dr. David Dao, the man dragged off a United Airlines plane, said he will also be representing the woman at the centre of an American Airlines incident last week.
Attorney Thomas Demetrio said he has been contacted by the woman caught on camera in the midst of a confrontation with an American Airlines flight attendant which showed the man taking her stroller and nearly striking her baby.
Reuters reports that the Facebook video depicts a male flight attendant wrestling the stroller away from the woman and almost hitting the baby. In the video, the woman is sobbing with her baby in her arms, begging to get her stroller back.
WATCH: Lawyer says American Airlines incident could have caused stress for pilot
American Airlines spokesperson Leslie Scott told the Associated Press that the airline is investigating the incident, and the attendant has been removed from duty in the meantime.
The incident comes not two weeks after a video of Dao being dragged off a United Airlines flight went viral and sparked outrage towards the airline on social media. Demetrio told the press at the time that Dao sustained several injuries as a result of the incident, including lost teeth, a broken nose and a concussion.
WATCH: United Airlines passenger dragged from flight
Demetrio appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show Monday morning to discuss the case and explained that this incident, as well as Dao’s case, are symptoms of a problem across the airline industry in general.
“We’ve got a flight attendant out of control, we’ve got a distressed mother. This is a real, real problem and the mother told me point blank her concern was her child, who almost got hit by the stroller.” he said in the interview.
American Airlines issued an official apology regarding the incident on Saturday evening. American Airlines grounded the flight, which was travelling from San Francisco to Dallas-Fort Worth on Friday. The apology statement claims that the airline had begun an investigation into Friday’s events:
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“We have seen the video and have already started an investigation to obtain the facts. What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers. We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family’s needs are being met while she is in our care. After electing to take another flight, we are taking special care of her and her family and upgrading them to first class for the remainder of their international trip.
The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”
Global News has contacted Demetrio’s law firm for additional comment but did not hear back by time of publication.
— With files from the Associated Press.
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