Alaska Airlines is being sued for wrongful death after an elderly woman fell down an airport escalator.
The family of 75-year old Bernice Kekona is suing the airline and a contractor for failing to escort the woman to the gate at Portland International Airport.
After being left alone, the lawsuit states, she mistook an escalator for an elevator and tumbled down the escalator steps, strapped in her motorized scooter.
The incident was caught on airport CCTV.
Ms Kekona suffered various cuts and injuries including a severe injury to the Achilles tendon, which had to be amputated.
She then died after surgery.
Kekona’s family said they had booked gate to gate assistance for the entire journey.
Attorney Troy Nelson said the family ‘called on three separate occasions to make sure she would get the gate-to-gate service in Portland. Bernice was the last person off the plane. They put her in her personal wheel chair … and then left her wandering by herself to find her flight home to Spokane.’
"Between her injury and her death, Bernice incurred almost $300,000 in medical bills to treat her injuries from the fall."
The lawsuit alleges there was a breakdown in communication between the airline and contractor Huntleigh USA Corp which provides passenger assistance at the airport.
Alaska Airlines media relations director Bobbie Egan said: "We don’t have all the facts, but after conducting a preliminary investigation, it appears that Ms Kekona declined ongoing assistance in the terminal and decided to proceed on her own to her connecting flight."
