Upon being tossed from her wheelchair while boarding a flight, a Florida family’s crippled daughter was left paralyzed from the neck down, according to the complaint they have filed against Southwest Airlines.
The life-altering injuries were sustained by Gabrielle “Gaby” Assouline, 25, as she boarded a Southwest flight at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on February 25 to see her sister in Denver.
Assouline was using an electronic wheelchair to board the flight. At the age of 12, she was identified with a genetic disease that made it difficult for her to walk large distances but otherwise allowed her to be very competent.
Assouline was unexpectedly ejected from the wheelchair as she descended the jet bridge, according to the March lawsuit.
Her catastrophic spinal cord injury from the fall, according to the family attorney, left her immobile and dependent on a ventilator.
According to Robert Solomon, the family’s attorney, “She’s a prisoner in her own body.”
She’s with it, she understands, but she’s really fighting for her life as she sits there, as you can tell. It really tears at your heart.
That is why I promised the family that we would use all of our resources to bring you guys to justice.
Because it is inconceivable that after dropping off your child at the airport and bringing them all the way to the gate, you would then receive word that your child had fallen and broken their neck.
According to Assouline’s mother Sandra, who was able to drop off her daughter at the gate using an escort permit, that was the last time she saw her before the accident.
The next thing Sandra Assouline received was a call from the Broward County officer on the scene informing her that her daughter had been injured in an accident and had broken her neck.
The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of Southwest Airlines and its contractor, G2 Secure Workers, who failed to sufficiently train staff, provide wheelchair help or instruction, and warn passengers of potential hazards or dangers in the jet bridge.
The family’s attorney continued, “We believe something in that jet bridge caused her to be ejected.”
He revealed to The Virginian-Pilot that the family is unsure of the exact day that their daughter will be discharged from the hospital.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to assist with medical costs. Over $112,000 has been collected.
Assouline’s parents wrote in the post that they are teaching her how to read lips so they can communicate with her due of her immobility.
Felix Assouline, Gaby’s father, remarked, “It’s incomprehensible; I just think about it.”
On the fundraising website, Assouline’s mother claimed that despite her daughter having the hereditary illness fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), it had never prevented her from leading a normal life.
Sandra Assouline penned, “Gaby is a fighter.” She is incredibly resilient, intelligent, passionate, funny, and creative.
She improves everyone in her vicinity by being her intelligent and humorous self. She is a supporter of making life more accessible for those with disabilities and is currently enrolled in online college courses.
She said, “Gaby made art with her hands, spending hours caring for her blossoming garden and crocheting cherished garments. Anybody can become friends with Gaby.
She speaks for hours on end each day to her long-distance friends all across the world.
Her mother continued, “She makes everyone laugh a kind of belly laugh that only Gaby can create in each of us.”
The jewel of our family is Gaby. Gaby is incredibly generous to everyone she knows.
In response to the complaint, Southwest Airlines provided a comment to DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
The safety of our employees and clients, both on the ground and in the air, is our top priority at Southwest Airlines.
We have examined the customer’s first description of her travel encounter and have provided a clear response to those concerned.
In order to look into and rectify the facts and circumstances relevant to the customer’s travel experience, Southwest will continue to collaborate with them and other parties concerned.
Southwest has been committed to providing for its consumers and employees for more than 51 years.
The family’s attorney responds to the airlines’ remark by calling it “insensitive.”
Solomon criticized Southwest’s reply, calling it “simply disrespectful” and “the boilerplate reaction we have been getting.”
We’re going to fight now. They engaged me to resolve their daughter’s fights in a similar manner.
When Assouline leaves the hospital, whenever that may be, her mother stated on the fundraising website that she will need to transfer her to a live-in inpatient treatment centre where she will learn to adapt to her new reality.
In order to make up for what she has lost, Gaby will require occupational, speech, physical, psychological, and many more therapy.
We need to remodel her entire environment so that it is accessible for her when, God willing, she returns home.
Such a serious injury necessitates a lifetime of recovery.