Delta Passenger With Lung Disease Says She Was Given Empty Oxygen Tank

Jun 13, 2023

A Delta passenger with a lung condition is suing the airline, accusing it of giving her insufficient oxygen on a flight and saying she had to be taken to a hospital as a result.

In a complaint filed on June 2 in a Minnesota court, Mattie Nash-Jackson said she boarded Delta Flight 2606 from Minneapolis-St.Paul airport to Chicago O'Hare airport on June 7, 2017.

Nash-Jackson, who says she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, commonly known as COPD, boarded the flight but says she was denied the use of a preapproved personal oxygen tank.

She says Delta instead provided her with an oxygen tank that was insufficient to last the 55-minute flight.

Nash-Jackson says the cabin crew then gave her a second oxygen tank that turned out to be empty. Her lawyer says she suffered "great bodily harm" as a result of not being able to breathe on the flight and had to be taken by ambulance to a hospital after landing in Chicago.

Nash-Jackson says she incurred medical bills totaling almost $90,000 as a result. Her lawyer argued in the complaint that she'd also been the victim of "severe and permanent bodily injuries" linked to pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

The woman is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 — the jurisdictional limit of Minnesota district courts.

Lawyers for Nash-Jackson declined to comment further on the lawsuit, which was first reported by the travel website Paddle Your Own Kanoo.

A representative for Delta told Insider: "While we, unfortunately, cannot comment on this specific matter, passenger safety is always Delta's top priority."

In May, a Delta passenger filed a complaint to the Department of Transportation after suffering anaphylaxis on a flight.

Sara Metzger told Insider she used two EpiPens aboard a flight between Atlanta and Portland, Oregon, after the cabin crew served nuts — something she said the crew did despite knowing of her allergies. She said the flight continued for three hours to its final destination after she needed to use the pens.

Delta said it couldn't comment on the incident involving Metzger. Her complaint has yet to be resolved.

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