Denied a Wheelchair Before a Flight and Hurt on the Airport Escalator: Whether the Airline or the Airport Is Responsible

Attorney Answer

Possibly both, on different theories. Federal rules under the Air Carrier Access Act require airlines to give requested assistance through the terminal, including wheelchairs. Those rules are enforced through the U.S. Department of Transportation, so the usual route to compensation is an ordinary negligence claim for the failure to give the help that was booked. If the trip was international, a treaty governs the airline's liability instead. The airport's responsibility depends on who runs it and what caused the fall.

The airline. The Department of Transportation's rules under the Air Carrier Access Act require airlines to provide assistance a passenger with a disability requests, including from the terminal entrance to the gate, with wheelchairs. The Department takes complaints and enforces those rules. Whether a passenger can sue under the Act itself is doubtful, so a claim for her injuries would usually be an ordinary negligence claim: the airline knew from her booking that she needed full assistance, she asked for a wheelchair, and none came. The Act's rules can bear on what the airline owed her. Which law applies, and how, is a question for a lawyer.

If the trip was international. The Montreal Convention, a treaty, governs an airline's liability for injuries on international journeys, including during embarking, and the federal appeals court that covers Ohio has described it as the exclusive remedy for the claims it governs (Doe v. Etihad Airways, P.J.S.C., 870 F.3d 406 (6th Cir. 2017)). Whether a fall on a terminal escalator before boarding counts as embarking depends on the facts, and the treaty has its own deadline, so this branch needs a lawyer quickly.

The airport. If the airport is in Ohio and run by a public body, operating it is a proprietary function under Ohio Rev. Code § 2744.01(G)(2):

(2) A "proprietary function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(c) The establishment, maintenance, and operation of a utility, including, but not limited to, a light, gas, power, or heat plant, a railroad, a busline or other transit company, an airport, and a municipal corporation water supply system;

and Ohio Rev. Code § 2744.02(B)(2) makes the public body answer for its employees' negligence there:

(2) Except as otherwise provided in sections 3314.07 and 3746.24 of the Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by the negligent performance of acts by their employees with respect to proprietary functions of the political subdivisions.

A claim against it must be filed within two years, Ohio Rev. Code § 2744.04(A):

(A) An action against a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, whether brought as an original action, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or claim for subrogation, shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues, or within any applicable shorter period of time for bringing the action provided by the Revised Code.

and damages that are not actual loss, such as pain and suffering, are capped, under § 2744.05(C)(1):

(C)(1) There shall not be any limitation on compensatory damages that represent the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages. However, except in wrongful death actions brought pursuant to Chapter 2125. of the Revised Code, damages that arise from the same cause of action, transaction or occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences and that do not represent the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars in favor of any one person.

A privately run airport, or the company that maintains the escalator, owes the ordinary care a business owes its customers to keep the premises reasonably safe, without being a guarantor of safety (Paschal v. Rite Aid Pharmacy, Inc., 18 Ohio St.3d 203, 480 N.E.2d 474 (1985), a case the customer lost). Unless the escalator itself was faulty or poorly maintained, the stronger claim is usually against the airline that did not provide the assistance.

What you can do

1. Keep the booking and ticket records showing the assistance request, and any confirmations from the airline.

2. Keep all medical records, including the emergency room visit and the fracture diagnosis.

3. Write down where and when she asked for help and from whom, while it is fresh.

4. Send the airline and the airport written requests to keep any video and incident reports from that day.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Ohio attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Two years against an Ohio public body under Ohio Rev. Code § 2744.04(A), and generally two years for an injury claim under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A). An international trip may carry a different deadline under the treaty; ask a lawyer promptly.