Man sues airlines after his 407-lbs wife dies on vacation ‘after being deemed too fat to fly’

National Post Wire Services | Nov 27, 2012 11:38 AM ET | Last Updated: Nov 27, 2012 12:27 PM ET
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TV2 Hungary Vilma Soltesz was on vacation with her husband in Hungary when she died of kidney failure.

 

A U.S. man is taking two airlines to court after his wife was allegedly refused passage on three separate flights for being too fat to fly.

Vilma Soltesz, who weighed 407 lbs, was on vacation with her husband in Hungary when she died of kidney failure. Vilma had wanted to return to the U.S. to get treatment from her doctors, but she could not get a flight home in time.

Vilma and her husband Janos Soltesz had got as far as the tarmac on a KLM plane before the captain asked her to leave, saying she couldn’t be safely secured in her seat, Janos’ lawyer Holly Ostrov-Ronai told ABC News.

“There was simply no legitimate reason in this instance for denying her boarding or forcing her to disembark,” Ostrov-Ronai said. “Their failure to make simple accommodations, that had been made prior, led to Vilma’s death. This is not best efforts in any regard.”

The Solteszes had successfully travelled on a KLM plane earlier, with the aid of an airlift and a seatbelt extender, Ostrov-Ronai said.

“[The airlines] took on the responsibility to get her to Hungary, it’s their responsibility to get her back,” lawyer Peter Ronai, speaking on Janos’ behalf, told CBS.

After the failed attempt on KLM, arrangements were made to put Vilma on a larger Delta plane, but proper transport onto the aircraft could not be arranged, the Ostrov-Ronai said.

An attempt was later made to fly on a third airline, but it too proved unsuccessful.
Vilma Soltesz died days later.

Janos is suing Delta and KLM for $6-million in damages.