Doctor says United flight was more ‘horrifying’ than leaving Vietnam

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According to Kentucky doctor David Dao, being dragged bodily from a United Airlines flight was more “horrifying” than his experience leaving Saigon.

“He said he left Vietnam in 1975 when Saigon fell, and he was on a boat and he said he was terrified,” his attorney, Thomas Demetrio, said during a press conference on Thursday. “He said that being dragged down the aisle was more horrifying and harrowing than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam.”

However, Dao and Demetrio rejected comparisons to Rosa Parks and said that they did not believe the incident was rooted in racism. “I think what happened to Dr. Dao might have happened to any one of us,” Demetrio explained.

–United to compensate passengers on flight when man dragged off–

According to Demetrio, Dao suffered a “significant” concussion, sinus injury and a broken nose because of what happened on that flight.

Demetrio then addressed a lawsuit already listed on the Cook County Circuit Court website filed against both the City of Chicago and United Airlines.

“I think corporate America needs to understand that we all want to be treated in the same manner, with the same respect and the same dignity that they would treat their own family members,” Demetrio said. “If they do that wouldn’t it be great? So, will there be a lawsuit? Yeah, probably.”

Demetrio also blasted claims that United had reached out to apologize and instead tore into the company, saying, “For a long time airlines, United in particular, have bullied us. They have treated us as less than maybe we deserve. I conclude that based upon hundreds, literally hundreds, of tales of woe of United that here is what we want as a society: we want fairness in how people treat us, we want respect, and we want dignity.”