The heartbroken family of a disabled passenger is suing Allegiant Air for allegedly causing him to topple from an unsecured wheelchair and die hours later by failing to follow required safety protocols.
Hunter Adkins, 24 — who suffered from muscular dystrophy — had been trying to board an aircraft in Huntington Tri-State Airport in West Virginia with his dad and 9-year-old brother on March 28, 2024 when the captain ordered the staff to hurry up and get everyone onboard, claims the lawsuit viewed by the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The harried crew didn’t provide Adkins with the federally mandated extra assistant or a special narrow “aisle wheelchair” he needed to safely enter the plane, which caused his motorized wheelchair to topple as an attendant tried to wheel him through the plane’s entry door, the suit filed Friday claims.
Adkins was physically incapable of breaking his own fall and landed face-first on the ground with his chair crashing down on top of him, in front of his father and younger brother, according to the suit. He died in the hospital from blunt force trauma 15 hours later.
Relatives claim Adkins should have had at least two attendants under federal regulations, but he was only given one after staffers were reassigned to load luggage in a frantic rush to get the plane off the ground, the lawsuit states.
Staff also allegedly neglected to provide a special wheelchair with safety straps designed to move passengers safely in and out of the aircraft.
“Despite being able to see how the wheelchair assistant was improperly boarding Hunter E. Adkins, crew members at the plane’s entrance did nothing to intervene to ensure Hunter E. Adkins’s safe boarding,” the complaint reads.
The wrongful death suit requests a jury trial and damages exceeding $15,000, according to the Journal.
Allegiant said it’s unable to comment.
“While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones affected by this heartbreaking situation,” a company spokesperson said.