Seatbelt mishap breaks woman's ankle on JetBlue flight to Bahamas
The plaintiff claims JetBlue discouraged her from calling an ambulance and instead instructed her to return to New York for medical attention
A woman aboard a flight to her tropical vacation suffered an ankle-breaking mishap that ruined her vacation plans.
Maria Mistretta, a passenger from Long Island, is suing JetBlue airlines for an injury sustained on her July 23 flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Bahamas and the company's failure to render proper aid.
While getting up from her seat, Mistretta's foot reportedly "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."
A woman from Long Island is claiming that JetBlue airlines failed to render medical aid after she broke her ankle on a low-hanging seatbelt during a flight to the Bahamas. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Getty Images)
Maria Mistretta and her husband, Salvatore Mistretta, claim in their lawsuit that JetBlue failed to offer any medical care or accommodations to make sure her broken ankle was properly attended to.
"[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 court filing claims.
It added, "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."
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The plaintiffs allege that even when they were allowed to disembark, the airline could only provide a "broken" wheelchair without support for her broken leg.
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Once in the Bahamas, the Mistrettas claim they were discouraged from calling an ambulance and then forced to book a return flight to New York, go back through airport security, and seek medical attention on their own.
An evaluation at a New York emergency room allegedly diagnosed Mistretta with a right ankle fracture, deep vein thrombosis, and aggravation of a previous back injury, according to the lawsuit.
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Maria and Salvatore Mistretta are seeking $170,000 in damages in relation to the incident.
Fox Business reached out to JetBlue for comment but has not yet received a response.