A California cardiologist's final flight has led to a wrongful death lawsuit against Qatar Airways. According to a complaint filed by his son, 85-year-old Asoka Jayaweera allegedly died after being denied a vegetarian meal on a 15-hour Los Angeles-to-Doha flight last August. Family members say Jayaweera, a strict vegetarian who was traveling to Sri Lanka via Qatar, had requested the meal ahead of time but was told there were no more available, reports AeroTime. Jayaweera was told by crew to "eat around" the meat in the regular meal provided, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says he began choking soon after, though it's unclear what exactly caused the blockage, People reports.
Despite crew consulting with MedAire—a remote service staffed by ER doctors for in-flight medical emergencies—the plane did not make an emergency landing. Flight staff argued that they were over the Arctic at the time, but Jayaweera's son says they were actually above Wisconsin, with time to divert for medical help.
Instead, Jayaweera was administered oxygen on board, but the complaint states his oxygen levels remained dangerously low and he lost consciousness. The plane landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, eight hours later, where Jayaweera was hospitalized, the Independent reports. He died two days later from aspiration pneumonia, a lung infection caused by inhaling food or liquid, according to the complaint. Jayaweera's son is seeking at least $128,821 in damages, plus legal costs, citing negligence and breach of international aviation law. The lawsuit points to the Montreal Convention, which holds airlines strictly liable for injuries or deaths resulting from accidents on international flights.
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