The suit alleges the airline crew asked the passenger to eat around the meat.
A California man died on a Qatar Airways flight after allegedly being denied his requested vegetarian meal and offered a meat dish. He choked mid-flight, and his family has filed a lawsuit against the airline for wrongful death.
This tragic chain of events in 2023 involves 85-year-old Asoka Jayaweera, a cardiologist from Southern California. Jayaweera was flying from Los Angeles to Doha. As a strict vegetarian, he had preordered his meal. Two-and-a-half hours into the 15-hour flight, the crew allegedly served him a meat-based meal despite his request and told him to eat around the meat.
Qatar Airways lists 20 special meals, including several options for vegetarians such as a vegetarian meal, raw vegetarian meal, Asian vegetarian meal, and vegetarian Jain meal.
Jayaweera’s son, Surya, who has filed the lawsuit, said in the complaint that his father choked while eating. “While attempting to ‘eat around’ the meat in the meal that he was provided, Asoka Jayaweera began choking shortly thereafter.”
The crew attempted to help and asked for medical advice from MedAire, a company that offers remote medical support to flight attendants. They also administered oxygen, but the passenger lost consciousness, and his oxygen saturation levels remained critical. When the plane landed in Scotland, the passenger had been unconscious for three-and-a-half hours. He was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead due to aspiration pneumonia, a lung infection caused by inhaling food or drink.
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The complaint also claims that the crew informed the passenger’s unidentified companion that the plane could not be diverted because it was flying over the Arctic Circle; however, the suit alleges the flight was actually over Wisconsin and could have landed for emergency assistance.
The complainant is seeking damages for wrongful death under the Montreal Convention at a statutory minimum of $128,000 plus legal fees. The Montreal Convention does not propose a financial limit to death claims, and an airline cannot contest claims for damages up to approximately $183,000.
Related: Family Kicked off Flight for Peanut Allergy Request. Is This Normal?
Although not common, such tragedies do occur onboard. In 2020, a passenger flying Emirates from Melbourne to Manchester choked on her beef dinner. Susan Pugh put her hand on her throat and lost consciousness, and an onboard doctor could not resuscitate the 75-year-old.
A decade ago, in 2011, a 31-year-old choked on his in-flight meal and died onboard. Robert Rippengale was traveling with his girlfriend Vanessa Preechakul from Singapore to New Zealand with Jetstar. He suffocated on his beef dish while watching a movie, and despite the crew’s efforts to perform CPR, they were unable to save his life.
If someone is choking, they may have one or both hands on their throat—an international sign of distress. According to the Red Cross, signs of choking also include a weak cough or no cough, a panicked or confused expression, inability to speak or cough, and skin that may turn blue. If you notice someone having a medical emergency onboard, quickly notify the crew, who are trained to act in these situations. They can also call for help on the ground and alert the pilot, who may divert the plane.
In the event of a fatality, the crew ensures that the deceased is treated with dignity if they pass away onboard. The passenger may be moved to another seat without people around and covered with a blanket, or other passengers may be relocated to other seats.
Related: Family of Man Who Died Mid-Flight Sues British Airways
