Airline Sued in Disability Dispute : * Law: Head of state rehabilitation agency says he was rejected for flight out of Lindbergh because of his portable respirator.
William Tainter, state Department of Rehabilitation director, has filed a discrimination suit against United Airlines for keeping him off a flight from San Diego to Chicago nearly a year ago because he uses a portable respirator.
Tainter, who has used the breathing device since he contracted polio as a teen-ager, filed the suit late Monday in federal court here, asking for $250,000 in emotional damages from the airline and an Arlington, Va., travel agency that booked the January flight.
A United spokesman said he was unaware of the suit and declined comment. Attempts to reach someone at the Virginia travel agency were unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, Tainter said he decided to file the suit because he is tired of facing constant inquiries every time he flies. He said his aim is to force United and other major airlines to comply with federal aviation regulations by following a coherent policy in the treatment of people with disabilities.
“It’s ridiculous to have a situation where you have a person with a severe disability who has to travel as a result of the position he has, and every time he goes to the airport, it’s a constant hassle and it’s a crapshoot whether he is going to get on the plane or not,” Tainter said.
Tainter said he needs the respirator to force air into his lungs through a plastic hose he clamps in his mouth. At night, he attaches the hose to a tracheal tube so he can breathe while sleeping.
In his lawsuit, Tainter alleges that United discriminated against him “solely on the basis of his handicap” on Jan. 12 when he was barred at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field from taking the respirator on what was supposed to be the first leg of a flight to Washington to attend a conference of “prominent disabilities activists.” Tainter, who was appointed to his $99,800-a-year post in April, was director of the San Diego Community Service Center for the Disabled at the time.
The suit said Tainter booked the flight through USA International Travel Inc., a travel agency used by conference organizations. Tainter asked the agency several times to make sure the airline knew his respirator used a “gel cell” battery, according to the suit.
Tainter and his Sacramento attorney, Ralph D. Black, maintain that such a battery is approved by federal aviation regulations for use on flights because the acid in the unit is crystallized and will not spill. But the lawsuit says United’s regional supervisor of customer services determined the battery contained a “hazardous” substance and had to be left off the plane.
The dispute delayed takeoff and the United agent called USAir, which agreed to take Tainter without any question, the suit alleges. Although the suit says Tainter was never refused passage on previous United flights, it alleges that the airline has a “pattern and practice” of failing to inform its employees how to handle handicapped passengers and their equipment.
The suit said Tainter was forced to cancel his first Washington meeting, and that he was “not only humiliated, but . . . has been effectively precluded from further participation in airline travel promotion programs and the use of more convenient flights for his frequent travel.”
Tainter said Tuesday that part of the reason he wanted to file the suit is that his new appointment requires him to fly out of new airports, particularly in Los Angeles, where he is unknown.
“The only time I don’t get harassed is when I’m in San Diego and get on a plane, and the people who are working that day have seen me before,” said Tainter, who was director of the center for the disabled for 15 years.
“Now, I’m going to be doing most of my flying in and out of the L.A. area, and you’ve got to expect that we’re going to get this inconsistent treatment and all this harassing again.”
