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Started By
Message
Amputee seeks damages after United Airlines and airport security seize scooter batteries
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:08 am
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:08 am
'I had to crawl' Stearn Hodge says he will never forget the humiliation of having to drag his body across a hotel room floor during what was supposed to be a vacation celebrating his 43rd wedding anniversary — because a security agent at the Calgary International Airport and United Airlines confiscated the batteries he needed to operate a portable scooter.
"Having to crawl across the floor in front of my wife is the most humiliating thing that I can think of," said Hodge. "It unmasks how real my disability is … I haven't been the same since." The 68-year-old retired contractor from Kelowna, B.C., lost his left arm and right leg in a 1984 workplace accident. He now relies on a portable scooter powered by lithium batteries.
But on a trip to Tulsa, Okla., on Feb. 26, 2017, an agent with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and a United Airlines official told Hodge to remove the $2,000 battery from his scooter and fly without it, as well as his spare battery.
In making the demand, both employees cited safety concerns. LINK
"Having to crawl across the floor in front of my wife is the most humiliating thing that I can think of," said Hodge. "It unmasks how real my disability is … I haven't been the same since." The 68-year-old retired contractor from Kelowna, B.C., lost his left arm and right leg in a 1984 workplace accident. He now relies on a portable scooter powered by lithium batteries.
But on a trip to Tulsa, Okla., on Feb. 26, 2017, an agent with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and a United Airlines official told Hodge to remove the $2,000 battery from his scooter and fly without it, as well as his spare battery.
In making the demand, both employees cited safety concerns. LINK
15
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:08 am to BowDownToLSU
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:12 am to BowDownToLSU
Rules are rules
Those batteries cant go on planes.
This is discussed on your ticket purchase agreement small print
Those batteries cant go on planes.
This is discussed on your ticket purchase agreement small print
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:13 am to Cosmo
Yep
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:15 am to BowDownToLSU
If those are the rules then he doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:16 am to Nado Jenkins83
quote:
Yep
he may sue but he doesn't have a leg to stand on in this case
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:16 am to 777Tiger
Beat you to it, 777! 
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:16 am to 777Tiger
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:17 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
Beat you to it, 777!
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:19 am to BowDownToLSU
Feel bad for the guy but if that’s a lithium battery, there is a history of those catching fire at high altitudes. He should have called or researched before buying a ticket as this is a well known problem.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:19 am to BowDownToLSU
What a drama queen. Not the airline’s fault he didn’t know the regulations and didn’t plan his trip accordingly.
I guess he thought he was just smarter/better than all the other people with disabilities in airports using manual wheelchairs. Keep in mind the airline even pays someone to push the wheelchair for you.
I guess he thought he was just smarter/better than all the other people with disabilities in airports using manual wheelchairs. Keep in mind the airline even pays someone to push the wheelchair for you.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:21 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
he doesn't have a leg to stand on.
In the picture in the OP he does in fact have one leg.
This post was edited on 4/29/19 at 9:22 am
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:23 am to MikeBRLA
quote:
In the picture I saw he did in fact have one leg.
nevertheless, if he decides to proceed with a lawsuit, his attorney will be busier than a one armed paper hanger trying to build a case
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:26 am to 777Tiger
All joking aside, I don't think any lawyer will take this case unless he/she sees a potential ADA violation with the rule in the first place. But how do you allow that type of battery on a plane when it is known to burn up at high altitudes? I think the airline is going to come out standing tall in this matter.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:27 am to BowDownToLSU
quote:
Having to crawl across the floor in front of my wife is the most humiliating thing that I can think of," said Hodge. "It unmasks how real my disability is … I haven't been the same since."
Soooo...too good for a manual push chair, huh?
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:27 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
I think the airline is going to come out standing tall in this matter.
I don't know, sometimes a payoff to make this go away is in order, bad publicity can be crippling to a bbusiness
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:36 am to Cosmo
quote:Might want to read the regular sized print in the story:
Rules are rules
Those batteries cant go on planes.
This is discussed on your ticket purchase agreement small print
quote:
Hodge said no one from CATSA or United Airlines would listen to him or read IATA documents he had printed out, showing his batteries are permitted on board if an airline gives prior approval. Hodge had received that permission.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:38 am to Doctor Strangelove
Just for the record: It is absolutely within Airline regulations to fly with a lithium battery in the passenger area. If he was trying to check his scooter into the cargo area, that's a different story. But, that doesn't appear to be what happened here.
They allow lithium batteries in carry-ons and in passengers personal items and hands. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have allowed those items to be packed in the passenger area of the plane, other than employee ignorance.
quote:there is a brief history of lithium batteries catching fire. One plane went down when large amounts of lithium batteries were stored together in the cargo.
there is a history of those catching fire at high altitudes.
They allow lithium batteries in carry-ons and in passengers personal items and hands. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have allowed those items to be packed in the passenger area of the plane, other than employee ignorance.
This post was edited on 4/29/19 at 9:39 am
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:42 am to BowDownToLSU
Why wouldn’t he have a prosthetic leg to attach where he could walk? He still has one good leg
Posted on 4/29/19 at 9:46 am to BowDownToLSU
How about renting a scooter once he arrived at the airport? I am sure there a companies that would have waiting for him at the airport with a scooter. He could board and disembark using a wheelchair and the get on the scooter.
Instead he choose to make a huge deal out of this. Roll with the punches and adapt. It isn't that hard.
Instead he choose to make a huge deal out of this. Roll with the punches and adapt. It isn't that hard.
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