A JetBlue passenger recently decided to sue the airline for allegedly causing her cancer to return.
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A California couple — Oksana and Peter Kiritchenko — is accusing JetBlue of triggering the wife’s cancer to return. This comes after flight attendants refused to let her emotional support dog join them in first class.
Apparently, Oksana Kiritchenko’s cancer was in remission and returned after the incident. The encounter caused “mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering,” according to the suit.
The Kiritchenkos flew with their emotional support animal, a French Bulldog, from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale “without incident.”
However, during their return flight — which occurred on September 13 — airline staff raised concerns regarding the dog.
According to the suit, “the preboarding agent for JetBlue kept Plaintiffs standing at the kiosk for a very long time.” The agent apparently failed to address their dog-related request.
JetBlue Passenger Accuses Airline of Causing Her Cancer to Return
Allegedly, Peter Kiritchenko, 71 at the time, has a “severe disability affecting his ability to stand.” However, despite providing documents of his disability, the couple is accusing JetBlue of ignoring their requests.
“JetBlue agents did not offer them a wheelchair, and the plaintiffs were afraid to step aside without an acknowledged arrangement that they will be called back for the dog-related inquiry, in a fear that they will lose their spot in the queue,” the suit states.
Later, a JetBlue flight assistant “demanded that the dog be relocated to a much smaller bag.”
“The assistant issued an ultimatum that either the dog be placed into the provided bag, or the plaintiffs shall leave the plane,” the suit continued. “As the dog was unable to fit, the plane was ordered to return to the airport building and the plaintiffs were ousted from the plane.”
The Kiritchenkos believe the encounter caused them to “sustain injury to their immune and nervous systems.” In fact, they are blaming the interaction on Oksana’s cancer return.
“Mrs. Kiritchenko, although a Stage-4 cancer patient, had been in remission prior to the events described hereinabove,” the suit stated. “Those events caused Mrs. Kiritchenko an extreme amount of stress. Upon arrival home, she checked in to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center hospital in Los Angeles. The test results had shown the mean tumor molecules levers (“MTM/ml”) had risen to 0.59.”
Later, a JetBlue spokesperson provided a statement regarding the lawsuit.
“JetBlue announced compliance with the Department of Transportation (DOT) rules that no longer recognize emotional support animals as service animals. These rules require airlines to treat emotional support animals as pets rather than service animals,” the rep said.