If someone dies on a plane due to a heart attack, can the spouse sue the airlines for accidental death?

I suppose it’s possible, but the case would probably get thrown out almost immediately.

There’s only a case if the airline is criminally negligent.
There’s no reasonable expectation than an airline can prevent heart attacks as part of their regular service.

Anybody can sue anybody for anything.

But it doesn’t mean they’ll win.

And I wouldn’t consider it any more reasonable to hold the airline responsible for the heart attack than to hold you responsible if I have it in your living room.

I don’t think so…i think the fine print when you purchase the ticket says something about the airline not being held responsible for death and also permitting them to try any life saving mechanism available.

@Bronny Those sort of fine print things only go so far. “Not liable for death” only works for things they aren’t reasonably able to prevent. If they actually caused the death that wouldn’t help at all.

However, To the original question, if this is not something caused by an unusual disturbance that is the fault of the crew, then no. As @Jeruba said, it’d be like walking into your house and having a heart attack. Unless you caused it, you wouldn’t be held liable. Hopefully. If they yelled at him or something, maybe. But if it as just the air travel, it’s a risk you agree to take by buying the ticket. Probably in “Terms and Conditions”.

If you’re plotting a story, I think you’d get more mileage from “accidental food poisoning” on the plane food. Anyone could buy that one, and I know a half-dozen lawyers who would probably pay you to take the case.

Unfortuantely no, they can not sue the airlines, due to health history , medications, and other medical knowledge. If the male is, in fact High Risk of cardiac arrest, then said person should not be on a plane.

definitely not, you cant sue the airline for any sort of natural death during flight, but if the plane is on the ground and due to any delay in medical assistance that resulted in death i think u can sue them.
http://www.abbeyaccess.com

im just thinking of this technically, but what IF you don’t press the button to summon the flight attendant and they have no idea….you have to make sure you press the button and get them to come over but not too soon that their attempts at CPR will save him. Then your plans of a lawsuit and living the single and fabulous life will be void.

How can you possibly sue for anything that is accidental? There would have to be negligence. I suppose if you have huge amounts of money to waste you could find any number of less than forthright attorneys who would take your money. None would be likely to win for you.

@Bronny: I don’t think that is how it would play out, because if someone were to go into cardiac arrest , people on the plain would start to panic and try and help. Refusing to help or simply waiting, while knowing that the patient is going into cardiac arrest, you can be prosecuted for Negligence.

Yes, anybody can sue anybody for anything, but it seems to be a major part of American culture to actually contemplate anything.

If someone dies due to a heart attack while reading an offensive Fluther comment, can the spouse sue the Fluther moderators for accidental death?

In the US there are about 270 people per lawyer. In Germany it’s 600 people per lawyer. In France it’s 1400 people per lawyer.

That’s quite a strain on the economy and it makes American products and services more expensive. Above all health care.

why would you sue for that – it would be a bit excessive, don’t you think? and the law suit would not bring the person back, just make it more painful for those who miss him. Be reasonable – I’d be willing to bet you could easily find an attorney who would take it, though, because they will take it if there is a chance of winning the case, and how much do you think the airline would be willing to settle out of court with rather than wasting more of their money on opposing it?

They can try…

The only thing you will receive out of this is a big bill from your attorney. how could you ever prove the airlines were at-fault? i believe the writing on the airline ticket covers this as a non-liability. you might want to read this. if i were on a civil jury and listened to this case, i would silently laugh and think “this person has an attorney thats an ambulance chaser, in the sky”. since airlines do not give physicals, before boarding to each customer, i would say your chance of winning this case would be like having a snowball in hell.

@583BLS Ordinary people on the plane would not be prosecuted/sued for negligence. There is no absolute duty to act. The flight attendants and crew would be a different story, though.

true, i was thinking EMT… those are the rules that apply. either way there could be legal action brought against them if they sat there knowing that the person was dead and didnt attempt to do anything about it .

Not very likely to be successful