United Airlines to pay $30 million after quadriplegic passenger ends up in a coma

United Airlines is paying $30 million to the family of a quadriplegic man who went into a coma following an incident as he was being wheeled off a plane. 

The family of Nathaniel Foster Jr. alleged in a lawsuit that United "failed to abide by the standard of care owed to disabled passengers" after an agent "aggressively" pushed his wheelchair while helping him deplane in 2019. That caused Foster to sustain "significant" and permanent brain damage, according to the complaint. 

As a result of the incident, Foster was left unable to speak or eat solid foods, and his life expectancy has fallen from 39 to 31.5 years, the suit alleged.

United settled the lawsuit on Tuesday following a one-day trial in San Francisco federal court. Of the $30 million settlement, roughly $12 million will cover legal fees, and $3 million will cover other costs, Reuters reported. The carrier did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

"We got this"

Foster, who used a wheelchair, ventilator and tracheal tube at the time of the incident, "jerked forward and back" and slouched in his chair after it was "forcefully" pushed while he disembarked, the family's lawyers said in a legal filing.

According to the complaint, Foster looked "fearful" and whispered "I can't breathe" during the incident, but a gate agent "giggled" and said "we got this" to a doctor who offered to help the man. Foster then suffered a heart attack, and a doctor at the scene found he had no pulse. 

Foster's mother said she received assurances that her son would be properly assisted getting on and off the plane when she called United's accessibility desk ahead of their trip, according to the complaint. However, only one flight attendant was initially present to help Foster disembark the plane when they arrived in Louisiana, the suit claimed. Foster typically required the assistance of four to six people to exit a plane, according to the complaint. 

Lawyers for Foster's family did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment. 

In:
• Lawsuit
• United Airlines