The family of a man who died during an American Airlines flight is suing after the passenger was allegedly denied medical attention while experiencing an “escalating medical crisis,” according to a lawsuit.
John William Cannon, 62, died on April 29, 2023. In the complaint reviewed by PEOPLE, his son, Kyle Cannon, claims more could have been done to prevent Cannon’s death.
American Airlines told PEOPLE they are “reviewing the complaint.”
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Cannon boarded American Airlines Flight 1444 from Kentucky’s Louisville International Airport to travel to Dallas at approximately 12:30 p.m. on April 28, 2023, according to the wrongful death lawsuit.
Cannon was en route to attend a celebration of life for his late partner, Kyle’s attorney, Joseph LoRusso, told McClatchy News on Thursday, April 24.
Around the time he was de-boarding from his first flight, Cannon “suffered a syncopal event,” the lawsuit says. He was helped to the floor of the jet bridge, but was released minutes later to make his connecting flight to Colorado.
“While Mr. Cannon exhibited concerning signs of medical distress, AAL personnel proceeded to transfer him from AAL1444 to his connecting flight, AAL4896 (operated by Envoy Air, Inc.),” the complaint claims.
The victim allegedly became unresponsive, and according to allegations in the lawsuit, “Despite Mr. Cannon’s escalating medical crisis, the AAL4896 flight crew delayed requesting medical assistance until after the aircraft had landed, taxied to the gate, and all other passengers had deplaned.”
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His symptoms included “being in and out of consciousness with labored breathing.”
Durango La Plata firefighters arrived and administered oxygen to Cannon before removing him from the aircraft. However, as he was being transported to Mercy Medical Center, he “suffered sinus bradycardia, which progressed to ventricular fibrillation arrest,” the lawsuit reads.
In the early hours of the following morning, he was pronounced dead.
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Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from American Airlines, October 2024
Kyle and his attorneys argue that Cannon’s death “was the direct and proximate result of the negligence and fault of” American Airlines and its employees.
“The circumstances of this case represent a tangible manifestation of a corporate culture at American Airlines that prioritizes inaction over intervention,” LoRusso and Jessica McBryant, attorneys for the Cannon family, told PEOPLE.
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“This ingrained culture, to which John Cannon tragically fell victim, underscores a systemic issue the family is determined to address, both in seeking justice for John and in advocating for broader organizational change,” LoRusso and MCBryant said.
Kyle is seeking to recover damages for “conscious pain, suffering, mental anguish, loss of time and income, medical expenses, and other damages prior to his death” in an amount over $75,000, plus attorney’s fees.
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