Man sues airline over injuries for sitting next to obese passenger

Updated
Man Sues Airline Over Injuries for Sitting Next to Obese Passenger
Man Sues Airline Over Injuries for Sitting Next to Obese Passenger


If you pay for a seat on an airplane, should you be expected to share part of it with your neighbor?

Australian man James Bassos is suing Etihad Airlines, claiming a fellow passenger was taking up part of his seat on his flight.

In his lawsuit, Bassos claims that the passenger next to him was quote "grossly overweight" and that his "body encroached into his seat," forcing Bassos to twist in his seat for much of the 14-and-a-half-hour flight from Sydney to Dubai. That is a long flight no matter who you are sitting next to.

After five hours of twisting, Bassos says he asked the flight attendant if he could move and was allowed to sit in a crew seat for a while, but for security reasons was sent back to his seat for the last hour and a half of the flight.

The man now wants $277,000 in damages, claiming all that twisting caused a back injury, and that it was "unusual and unexpected" to have someone taking part of his seat.

Etihad is arguing it isn't liable because the injuries weren't caused by an accident.

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