The doctor who was dragged off a United Airlines flight in a bloodied state says he fears he has brain damage from the incident.

David Dao, 69, suffered a concussion, broken nose and damaged sinuses and lost two front teeth when he was pulled from his seat and dragged off a flight in April.

He was waiting to fly from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, on April 9 when the airline needed four extra seats for travelling crew.

When Dao and wife Teresa were selected to be bumped from the flight, he refused to leave. Security enforcement officers dropped his head onto an armrest.

Dao and wife Teresa

In his first ever interview since the incident, Dao said he had problems sleeping, had little co-ordination and is unable to concentrate.

He told the Mail he had no memory of the events and despite his horrific injuries, the real scars remaining were mental.

He doubted that he could ever work again as a doctor and has been housebound while waiting for surgery on his nose.

"I'm in the process of recovery. I cannot concentrate well, or sleep well, I need more time to recover, more rest from a concussion. I need surgery to correct my nose, but first of all I worry about my brain," he told the Mail.

"It affects my sleeping, coordination, concentration, doing anything. It could be permanent. My neurologist just says to go from Monday to Monday, they can't say if it's permanent.

"I could be like this in a year's time, I don't know. I'm not looking pretty good right now. I'm just very sad, I'm very emotional, I don't know how I feel, just sad."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9At7Xi6aiI&t=6s

A regular marathon runner, Dao said he could not run and instead walked slowly.

In April, United chief executive Oscar Munoz wrote a public apology to Dao and the passengers on board the flight for the incident.

When asked if Munoz had ever tried to get in touch with Dao to personally apologise, the doctor said: "No, no, no. I didn't speak to anyone, not the CEO, not anyone from the company, only to my lawyer".

Dao reportedly came to a settlement with the airline to avoid a protracted lawsuit.

He said that Munoz was allowed his "own opinion" and wouldn't be drawn on United's behaviour.

He preferred to concentrate on the positives from the horrific episode.




http://sagetravels.com/passenger-dragged-off-overbooked-united-flight-speaks-first-time/

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