Illinois

Lawyer: Dragged passenger 'poster child' for airline abuses

Associated Press
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Crystal Pepper, hija del doctor David Dao, acompañada por el abogado Stephen Golan, habla en una conferencia de prensa el jueves, 13 de abril del 2017, en Chicago. Dao, sacado a rastras de un vuelo de United, perdió dos dientes delanteros y sufrió la fractura de la nariz y una conmoción cerebral, dijo el jueves uno de sus abogados, que acusó a las aerolíneas de abusar de sus usuarios por demasiado tiempo. (AP Foto/Teresa Crawford) (The Associated Press)

John Slater, a United Airlines vice president, testifies at a City Council committee hearing in Chicago on Thursday, April 13, 2017. Slater said that bumping passengers to accommodate airline employees happens infrequently, and that federal guidelines requiring rest for crew members made it necessary to get the employees on the United flight in which Dr. David Dao was dragged from on Sunday. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) (The Associated Press)

Crystal Pepper daughter of Dr. David Dao accompanied by attorney Stephen Golan, speaks at a news conference Thursday, April 13, 2017, in Chicago. Dao a passenger dragged from a United Express flight Sunday April 9, 2017, suffered a "significant" concussion and broken nose, and he lost two front teeth, attorney Thomas Demetrio said Thursday. Dao was removed from the plane after he refused to give up his seat on the full flight from Chicago to Louisville to make room for four crew members. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) (The Associated Press)

A lawyer for a man who suffered a concussion and lost two teeth when he was dragged off a United Express flight hopes the 69-year-old becomes "a poster child" for the mistreatment passengers suffer at the hands of the airline industry.

Attorney Thomas Demetrio indicated Thursday Dr. David Dao will sue United and the city of Chicago, which employs the officers who pulled Dao off Sunday's Louisville-bound flight.

In widely shared cellphone video, Dao is dragged down the aisle on his back, his face bloody.

Demetrio said the video showed an extraordinary instance of something that happens too routinely: Airlines overbooking flights then bumping paying customers.

He says it exposed a culture in which airlines have "bullied" passengers.

United has apologized and says it won't happen again.