Personal Injury Law Firm in Seattle Washington. Free case evaluation 206-335-3880
When going on a family trip by air, whether for a vacation or relocation, you are just as responsible for your safety as the airline. It is your responsibility as the traveler, to make sure that everybody going on the trip is in the best state to travel. And this includes the family dog too.
Concurrently, it is the responsibility of airlines to ensure that everyone is borne safely to their destination, family dog included. But when you do everything required of you and harm still comes to your beloved pet, then the responsible airline can be held to account.
Usually, airlines maintain a policy that pets are not allowed on flights. This is understandable as it may be awkward if everyone flying had a pet in hand. But when they do allow you to bring your pet, they have an obligation to treat the pet properly.
When your dog has encountered harm or even death due to mishandling by the airline staff, they may have a case to answer. You may be able to file a claim against the airline and recover damages for the harm.
At Oshan and associates, we understand the special place that pets have in families and the trauma that can result from their harm. This is why high-powered lawyer, Evan Oshan especially does everything he can to help aggrieved pet owners like you secure redress. If you believe that your pet suffered harm or died due to a failure in the airline’s obligations, please contact us immediately.
To understand more about the duty placed on owners of pets and when airlines would be liable, please read on below.
What are you expected to do in preparation for your air travel?
The first duty as regards pet safety on airlines falls to the owner, you. When preparing for travel, you have to prepare your dog as well. Some of the requirements include:
Ensure that you have met all the requirements, as failing in any one could be detrimental to your lawsuit. Now that you understand what is expected of you as a traveller, let’s take a look at what is expected of the airlines.
In general, the airline should provide humane and considerate measures for handling your pet prior to, during and after the flight. United Airline’ PetSafe program explains just what these humane measures look like:
If your dog dies or is wounded as a result of the failure of airlines to meet their obligations, you have a right to hold them liable. However, this is often tricky because they employ a range of mechanisms through terms on the flight booking that protect them from liability. They often disclaim liability for loss of personal property, under which pets are classified.
Despite this, it is not impossible to hold them liable. Experienced lawyer, Evan Oshan has helped aggrieved owners hold airlines liable in a number of cases for failure in their obligations to dogs. Some of these cases include:
More cases abound of instances where airlines have been negligent in their duties, thus leading to the injury or death of pets. In all instances, the airline can be held responsible for the harm or death of your pet if it resulted from the acts of their staff.
Even if the responsible individual was not an employee of the airline, responsibility can still lie. The airline is expected to reasonably supervise all those that work for it.
When your dog dies or sustains an injury as a result of the negligence of airlines, you can recover veterinary bills and other damages. These may either relate to the cost of examining and treating the pet or the cost of adapting your home to your pets new needs.
To secure your chances of compensation, ask your vet to carefully document all findings from your pet’s examination. Also ensure that you get all the copies of your pet’s treatment record so that you can have an accurate account of all the costs incurred.
You can also get compensation for your dog’s “market value”. This is the most common type of compensation you get when your dog dies. Before now, it was even the only type of compensation you could get.
However, due to an increased recognition of the elevated place that pets occupy in our homes and lives, things have changed. A growing number of states now allow greater economic awards. In these states, you may also be able to receive non-economic damages for the emotional toll the death causes on your family. These states include Tennessee, Illinois and New York.
You may also be able to recover punitive damages in some cases, such as if the person who harmed your animal did so on purpose.
Airlines need to be consistently reminded that pets are living beings deserving of utmost care and attention. They should recognize that even though pets sometimes ride in the cargo hold of their planes, they are definitely not cargo. And they should never be treated as such.
At Oshan and associates, we consistently sound that reminder emphatically to airlines. It is our remit to ensure that they do not cause grief to families due to their carelessness. If your pet has been harmed, please call us on 206-355-3880. You can also fill our client intake form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our attorneys.
I was due to receive an adult male Cane Corso from Serbia to Dallas: He escaped and died at the airport before he was released into my custody. This happened today . 6-22-2009
I travelled w my dog in early April from nyc-lax and my dog died shortly after landing. She was in distress during flight and I was not allowed to take her out of her carrier under the seat to help her. The flight attendant said I would be taken off the plane if I did so. Upon landing in LA we took her to an emergency vet where she died.
A week ago my dog flew from Lisbon to Amsterdam and an accident happened while unloading her luggage and she lost her tongue and we had to opt for euthanasia at the veterinary clinic where we took her. I would like your assistance because none of the best practices available were applied or you were the least careful in dealing with the situation, as my wife and my wife, who was on the flight with our pets, 2 dogs and 1 cat, disembarked. The dogs were in the hold of the plane, for an hour we waited for the bags and our dogs after that she was approached by an airport agent who informed her that the dog was loose in the airport area, at that moment she was taken to pick up the dog in no time they said she was hurt. When my wife arrived at the place where the aircraft was landed at the door of the baggage hold there was a pool of blood and blood was still coming out of the door. At that point, she got desperate and that’s when they shouted at her that she was the only one who could remove the dog and they didn’t give any further explanations, they just opened it up and made her go upstairs and face a horror scenario where everything is covered in blood and the tongue is sticking out. Right on the edge of the door to the baggage area and the dog huddled in a corner in shock but still alive. Please note that more than half of the luggage had already been removed at that time, so the door was opened and closed with the dog loose inside the luggage area and not injured, as these luggage were without blood marks. continuing… my wife took the dog that was in shock and asked for an urgent veterinarian, who even being an international airport in Amsterdam did not provide the service so after another hour waiting in the cold of 0 degrees of the landing strip she was taken to the gate disembarking and instructed to take by own means to a veterinary clinic where he arrived had the situation stabilized to prepare for surgery evaluation where the surgeons detected that the tongue was completely torn out which would make feeding impossible, advising us that the most humane decision would be euthanasia, which we understand and decide should be done for the good of the bitch. However, seeing that the situation has developed in absurd ways in this case, I have come to you for legal advice on what can be done.
Cat handed to qatar. Lost freida in cargo hold. No real response from qatar 5 days no. Flight bangalor to madrid
I tried to call, my cell is 928-814-3696. Alaska airlines failed to follow USDA regs with our dog transport. When we asked them to correct the issue, they retaliated by kicking us off the flight and banning us from the airline. They stranded us mid journey in Seattle.
After 10 years of living in the UAE, I had to relocate due to change of job and of course my dogs (kids) have to come. Yet, My pets were planned to relocate with us from Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on 27.4.22, but my dogs never made it. One died and 2 ended up in the hospital due to failure of care from the airline side. They didn’t even inform us. They let us fly to Germany and we only found out our boys were left behind after landing in Germany. Not even by the airline. The relocation company/vet informed us only.
What are my options for Etihad airways killing my child and left us in the dark about it. Thank you
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Michelle
February 06, 2024
My dog died two days ago on our flight. Warning others. Be very careful.That say that we will take good care of your pet.This is not true obviously when you say not to provide them water and my pet arrived dead. So upset that airlines take your money, give you false information and your pet arrives deceased!