Thomas Demetrio, the attorney representing Dr. David Dao, the man forcibly dragged out of an overbooked United Airlines flight in early April, has reached a settlement with the United Airlines, his Chicago firm announced Thursday.
Dr. Dao’s lawyers, Thomas A. Demetrio of Corboy & Demetrio and Stephen L. Golan of Golan Christie Taglia, and United’s legal representatives have worked out the settlement with a condition that the amount remain confidential.
Demetrio praised United CEO Oscar Munoz in a statement saying:
“Mr. Munoz said he was going to do the right thing, and he has. In addition, United has taken full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the City of Chicago. For this acceptance of corporate accountability, United is to be applauded.”
The settlement was reached the same day the airline released 10 policies to improve customers’ experience.
“Dr. Dao has become the unintended champion for the adoption of changes which will certainly help improve the lives of literally millions of travelers,” Demetrio said in the statement. “I sincerely hope that all other airlines make similar changes and follow United’s lead in helping to improve the passenger flying experience with an emphasis on empathy, patience, respect and dignity.”
In the past, Demetrio won multimillion dollar settlements in wrongful death cases.
According to his bio on the firm’s website, Demetrio “has negotiated well over $1 billion in settlements and acquired the largest personal injury verdict ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. He has never lost an appeal.“
See the full release below:
