Reported / Citable
Background
Fourteen-year-old Kevin Greenidge became unconscious and unresponsive on an American Airlines flight from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Miami after experiencing breathing problems. Flight attendants called for medically trained passengers, who helped move Greenidge to the floor, performed CPR, and used an AED. The flight diverted to Cancún, where emergency personnel transported him to a hospital; he was pronounced dead. Greenidge had asthma, obesity, sleep apnea, and type II diabetes.
Melissa Suzette Arzu, administrator of Greenidge’s estate, sued American Airlines under the Montreal Convention, asserted a derivative loss-of-consortium claim, and alleged breach of the airline’s Conditions of Carriage. Both sides sought summary judgment on the Convention and contract claims.
The Court’s Holding
Judge Mark T. Pittman denied Arzu’s motion and granted American Airlines summary judgment on all claims. The crew’s alleged delays in notifying the flight deck and beginning CPR, failure to contact an on-call physician, and failure to establish distinct emergency roles did not amount to an “accident” under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention.
Even accepting Arzu’s account, the court held that the crew made concerted efforts to assist: it solicited medical help, provided a medical kit and AED, and diverted the flight. Departures from internal procedures alone were not necessarily unusual or unexpected. Because there was no Article 17 accident, the derivative consortium claim also failed. The court further held that the Conditions of Carriage made any advance payment discretionary, so American did not breach a contract by declining to pay 16,000 Special Drawing Rights. The court did not decide whether the Convention preempted that contract claim.
Key Takeaways
- An imperfect or delayed in-flight medical response is not automatically an Article 17 “accident” under the Montreal Convention.
- An airline’s deviation from its own procedures must still be unusual or unexpected in context to support Convention liability.
- American’s advance-payment provision required an initial discretionary determination of need; the 16,000-SDR minimum applied only if it chose to make an advance.
Why It Matters
The decision applies Fifth Circuit authority distinguishing a crew’s failure to assist from an imperfect response to an unfolding medical emergency. It also underscores that internal airline protocols do not by themselves establish a Montreal Convention accident.
For contract claims tied to an international-flight death, the court read the airline’s Conditions of Carriage according to their text and found no enforceable mandatory advance-payment obligation, while leaving Convention preemption unresolved.