Indian-American girl allergic to dairy given chocolate on Qatar Airways flight ended up in ICU, lawsuit alleges

Qatar Airways is once again grabbing attention for all the wrong reasons. A North Carolina woman has sued the airline, claiming that the flight attendant gave her three-year-old daughter chocolate despite being told that she has a severe dairy allergy. Swetha Neerukonda went to the bathroom and was shocked to see, upon returning, that her daughter had a chocolate. She confronted the flight attendant, but the latter did not take he seriously and instead “mocked and mitigated” her concerns. The Independent reported that the child went into anaphylaxis and her vital signs declined. The condition causes the body's airways to shut down and can be fatal if treatment is not administered quickly. The girl ended up in the ICU where she spent two days before her condition improved, the $5 million lawsuit states.

The mother also alleges that once her daughter's condition started worsening, the crew did not help and were mostly "blase, very indifferent." “You’d think they would jump into action, calling for ground-based telemedicine support, asking for a doctor on board,” Bohrer said, adding they did not do any such thing. Neerukonda's attorney, Abram Bohrer, told The Independent, “It’s inconceivable – they take it upon themselves to give the child the allergen?” The lawsuit was filed in October 31 in Alexandria, Virginia, federal court. Neeru and her daughter were travelling to India on April 9 when the said incident occurred.

Also Read: 85-year-old vegetarian told to 'eat around the meat' on Qatar Airways flight chokes to death

The lawsuit states the 33-year-old boarded a Qatar Airways flight QR710 from Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia and was to catch a connecting flight at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. She informed the crew that her daughter was allergic to dairy and nuts. She repeated it a few times as well, later during the 14-hour flight. When she went to the lavatory, one of the attendants agreed to keep an eye on her daughter. When she returned, she saw her feeding her a KitKat bar, the complaint states. She admitted that she had fed the snack to the child, and "mocked and mitigated [Neerukonda’s] concerns,” according to the complaint. Soon, "the girl began to suffer severe anaphylaxis as her mental status and vital signs declined,” the complaint continues.

Neerukonda administered an EpiPen injection, but "no PA announcement was made by cabin crew members, in violation of [the airline’s] own practices and procedures," according to the complaint. When the mother tried telling a fellow passenger about what had happened, the crew told her she was violating the airline's policy. Her condition improved, but after landing in India, she suffered a second anaphylactic reaction.

Qatar Airways attendant asks vegetarian to ‘eat around the meat’

This comes after Qatar airline was accused of serving non-vegetarian meal to a California doctor despite requesting a vegetarian meal. A flight attendant told him to "eat around the meat", according to a lawsuit. The 85-year-old started choking, but the captain did not make an emergency landing stating they were over the Arctic Ocean. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by his son claims his father Asoka Jayaweera was unconscious for three hours. After the plane landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was rushed to the hospital but he had already passed away. He died of "aspiration pneumonia,” an infection caused by inhaling food or liquid into the lungs, rather than swallowing it.