Who would ever guess that biting into a mid-flight snack on Delta would change your life forever?
Two years ago a California woman was on a Delta flight from Istanbul to New York. Midway through the flight she was served a snack of pita bread with eggplant dipping sauce.
But when she bit into her food she suddenly screamed out in pain, according to the lawsuit. Apparently, she had bitting into a “pebble”.
FAs rushed over, but offered her only $80 in air miles (we don’t know how many miles that actually was). The passenger claims biting into the rock necessitated “complex dental restoration” that she has only recently finished.
Her $9999 lawsuit is characterized as her “out-of-pocket dental expenses”.
TMZ broke this story and has pictures. Admittedly, I am suspicious. First, because all her teeth do not look all that healthy. Second, because I cannot imagine how one pebble broke three teeth (third picture in the set). Of course it may have been necessary to remove three teeth to treat nerve damage, but the pictures looks like she landed with three broken teeth.
In any case, the amount in controversy is relatively small and if there is a record of her incident onboard the flight, hopefully Delta will cover her medical bills and throw her more than 8,000 miles.
CONCLUSION
Delta discontinued its New York to Istanbul service, blaming weak demand and security concerns. Perhaps they should have specified security concerns over the integrity of the in-flight meal…
(H/T: Point Me to the Plane)
It looks like she had a 3 tooth attached crown/fixed bridge. When any part of that breaks you’ve got to replace it all. The teeth are attached together in one piece because it’s easier to keep clean with no flossing in between and stronger since it’s in the front. There’s a dental post with the “core” showing above the guns in the right of the picture. The rest of her teeth look nice actually.
She must be keeping the suit in small claims court since it’s under $10,000. That kind of dental work is very expensive. She’s really not making any money off of this. Seems like she’s just covering her out if pocket costs.