Man Sues Delta for Needle in Seat Pocket That Made Him Take HIV Tests, Medications
A man has sued Delta Airlines for allegedly leaving a needle in a plane's seat pocket, which pricked him and forced him to take multiple HIV tests and medications for a year.
As reported by TMZ, Gabriele Ybarra said he was on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Atlanta back in 2015 when his right middle finger got stabbed by a stray needle after reaching into the plane's seat pocket to grab his wallet.
Ybarra claimed that he had to pull the needle out of his finger, and it started "bleeding profusely." As a result of the ordeal, he said his life "flashed in front of him."
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The document stated that Ybarra had to go to a doctor after the incident and had to take several tests and take medications in order to be certain that he did not catch any serious infection, especially HIV.
The lawsuit also alleges that Ybarra had suffered from months of dizziness, headaches, body aches and even "explosive diarrhea" after he took the medications. He also said that he was unable to properly fulfill "his duties as a husband to his wife for months," which left him and his wife no other choice but to file the lawsuit.
It remains unclear where the lawsuit was filed, but a spokesperson for Delta told TMZ that the airline is "dismayed by what this customer describes in the suit. The safety and security of our customers and employees is always Delta's top priority." However, the company did not specifically speak about the nature of the suit.
This is not the first instance that Delta has found itself to be a subject of a scandal and a lawsuit.
Back in May, a family from New York filed a suit against Delta when one of their airline employees smacked the mobile phone out of the hands of a 12-year-old-boy before a flight traveling from New York to Florida.
A woman also sued the airline over an alleged assault back in 2016. She claimed that she was assaulted during a flight from Myrtle Beach to Detroit in July of last year, and she and her lawyer are now suing the company for $10 million.
