JetBlue Passenger Allegedly Suffers Broken Ankle From Tangled Seatbelt

A JetBlue Airways passenger has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that the airline’s failure to provide her with adequate accommodations caused her to suffer a broken ankle from a tangled seatbelt.

FOX Business is reporting that Maria Mistretta of Williston Park, Long Island, New York, filed a suit against the airline over her July 23 flight to the Bahamas, claiming that she suffered the injury on the way out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and that the flight attendants failed to administer proper aid.

Per the lawsuit, Mistretta’s foot “became entangled in a hanging seatbelt, or other object causing her to fall backwards. As she fell backwards, plaintiff’s foot twisted and cracked, and [Mistretta] landed on her back with her foot still tangled in the low hanging object.”

The suit continued: “[Mistretta and her husband] asked members of the flight crew for a first aid kit and ice, but they were told by crewmembers that everything was packed up and inaccessible for the remainder of the flight. The flight crew further informed the plaintiffs that they would need to wait for all other passengers to disembark before they could get off the plane.”

Mistretta, who is filing the lawsuit with her husband Salvatore, then claimed that JetBlue Airways only provided a “broken wheelchair” to get her off the plane.

The Mistrettas say that after being told not to contact an ambulance or seek medical assistance when they were in the Bahamas, they were compelled to arrange a flight back to New York, go through airport security again, and take care of their own medical needs.

According to the lawsuit, Mistretta was allegedly diagnosed with a right ankle fracture, deep vein thrombosis, and aggravation of a prior back ailment during an evaluation at an emergency hospital in New York.

Mistretta and her husband are seeking $170,000 in damages from JetBlue, which has not commented on the lawsuit.

News of the lawsuit comes shortly after JetBlue’s announcement of its expansion. The company said its strategy for the next three years focuses on Reliable & Caring Service, a Best East Coast Leisure Network, Products & Perks Customers Value, and a Secure Financial Future.