Photo: thenationonlineng.net
An Alabama man is taking Delta Airlines and a fellow passenger to court for a June 2017 incident that, he says, left him with permanent scarring and loss of sensation to the face.
The incident involved the other passenger’s emotional support dog, described by the Huffington Post as a mix of chocolate Labrador retriver and pointer. The dog bit Marlin Jackson on the face as he leaned in to secure his belt, pinning him to the wall of the plane during the vicious attack.
According to Jackson, when he got to his window-assigned seat on the Atlanta-San Diego flight and saw the dog, he made sure to ask the owner, a retired U.S. Marine from North Carolina, if the dog was prone to biting. He was offered an answer in the negative and proceeded to seat himself. When he leaned in to fasten his seatbelt, the animal lounged and bit him repeatedly in the face.
Jackson bled so profusely from his injuries that flight attendants had to remove the entire row of passengers in front of him. He required 28 stitches to close the gashes in his face and was left with permanent scarring and loss of feeling in certain areas.
“Jackson is accusing Delta of negligence due to the airline’s failure to ensure the safety of its passengers and for allowing a dog on board without being properly restrained. The lawsuit also argues that the dog’s owner should have been aware that the pet could pose a threat to passengers,” the Post writes.
One year later, in 2018, Delta changed its policies on allowing dogs in the cabin, requiring forms to confirm the animal had been trained and banning pit bulls. The update came to enforce passenger safety, they said at the time.
The problem according to Jackson’s attorneys, is that Delta failed to enforce regulations existent at the time. “The attack on Mr. Jackson would not have happened had Delta enforced their own pre-existing policies concerning animals in the cabin,” the attorneys tell the Post.
In this particular case, this would have meant seating a dog of this size elsewhere but a middle seat, so that it could be secured on the cabin floor.
According to Jackson, when he got to his window-assigned seat on the Atlanta-San Diego flight and saw the dog, he made sure to ask the owner, a retired U.S. Marine from North Carolina, if the dog was prone to biting. He was offered an answer in the negative and proceeded to seat himself. When he leaned in to fasten his seatbelt, the animal lounged and bit him repeatedly in the face.
Jackson bled so profusely from his injuries that flight attendants had to remove the entire row of passengers in front of him. He required 28 stitches to close the gashes in his face and was left with permanent scarring and loss of feeling in certain areas.
“Jackson is accusing Delta of negligence due to the airline’s failure to ensure the safety of its passengers and for allowing a dog on board without being properly restrained. The lawsuit also argues that the dog’s owner should have been aware that the pet could pose a threat to passengers,” the Post writes.
One year later, in 2018, Delta changed its policies on allowing dogs in the cabin, requiring forms to confirm the animal had been trained and banning pit bulls. The update came to enforce passenger safety, they said at the time.
The problem according to Jackson’s attorneys, is that Delta failed to enforce regulations existent at the time. “The attack on Mr. Jackson would not have happened had Delta enforced their own pre-existing policies concerning animals in the cabin,” the attorneys tell the Post.
In this particular case, this would have meant seating a dog of this size elsewhere but a middle seat, so that it could be secured on the cabin floor.
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