A Southern California cardiologist was denied a vegetarian meal and died after choking on a piece of food while attempting to “eat around” the meat in the meal while flying with Qatar Airways from Los Angeles to Sri Lanka, according to media reports. The lawsuit filed against the airways notes that Qatar and the United States are members of the Montreal Convention, the international treaty that governs airline liability. It sets a statutory payout limit of roughly $175,000, at current exchange rates, for onboard death and injury claims.
The incident
According to a newly filed wrongful death lawsuit, the flight couldn’t make an emergency landing to get 85-year-old Asoka Jayaweera to a doctor because the plane was travelling over the Arctic Ocean.
According to the complaint, when the flight touched down in Edinburgh, Scotland, Jayaweera had been unconscious for some three-and-a-half hours. It says he was taken to the hospital, but that it was already too late.
The complaint, which was initially filed on July 31 in California state court and removed to Central California federal court on October 3, states that Asoka Jayaweera booked a trip from LA to Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Qatar Airways.
About two-and-a-half hours into the 15-and-a-half-hour flight, the onboard meal service began, the complaint continues.
“Jayaweera was a strict vegetarian and requested a vegetarian meal,” the complaint goes on.
Instead, it says, the flight attendant “informed him that there were no vegetarian meals left and that they could only provide him a regular meal with meat and instructed him to ‘eat around’ the meat.”
“While attempting to ‘eat around’ the meat in the meal that he was provided, Asoka Jayaweera began choking shortly thereafter,” the complaint states, without specifying what exactly Jayaweera choked on.
Members of the flight crew stepped in to help and got on the phone with MedAire.
“At approximately 02:46 UTC, Asoka Jayaweera was monitored with an oxygen saturation level of 69 per cent,” the complaint says.
Oxygen saturation levels below 88 per cent are considered dangerous.
“It was not until approximately 11:00 UTC that the aircraft was brought down in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and Asoka Jayaweera was transported to the hospital,” the complaint states. “Asoka Jayaweera would die in Edinburgh due to aspiration pneumonia,” an infection caused by inhaling food or liquid into the lungs rather than swallowing it.
Surya Jayaweera is seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death, in excess of Montreal Convention guidelines, to be determined at trial, plus pre-judgement interest, court costs and attorneys’ fees.
Vegetarian Food Options in Qatar
In addition to standard options such as chicken biryani and couscous with beef, Qatar Airways, the flag carrier of the Emirate of Qatar, offers 19 special meals – of which seven are meat-free: a vegan meal completely devoid of meat, poultry, fish, honey, eggs, or dairy products; a raw vegetarian meal containing only uncooked fruits and vegetables; a vegetarian lacto-ovo meal, which does not contain any meat, poultry, or seafood, but does include egg and/or dairy products; a vegetarian Hindu meal; a vegetarian Jain meal; a vegetarian “Oriental” meal; a children’s vegetarian meal; and a fruit platter.
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