US woman sues Singapore Airlines over alleged allergy oversight that led to emergency landing
Dr Doreen Benary claims she suffered a severe allergic reaction during an in-flight meal despite having disclosed her shellfish allergy to cabin crew
Singapore Airlines is facing a lawsuit in the United States after a New York paediatrician claimed she suffered a severe allergic reaction mid-flight when she was served shrimp despite having warned cabin crew of her shellfish allergy.
The incident forced the aircraft to divert to Paris for emergency medical care.
In a complaint filed on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Dr Doreen Benary alleged that her explicit allergy disclosure was overlooked during meal service on Singapore Airlines flight SQ026 from Frankfurt to New York on October 8.
Benary, 41, was flying business class and had informed the crew of her allergy to shrimp after boarding, according to the court filing. Nonetheless, she was allegedly served a dish containing the allergen and became ill shortly after eating it.
“Nearly immediately after ingesting a portion of said meal, Plaintiff detected the presence of shrimp and began to feel ill,” the complaint states. When she questioned the crew, a flight attendant “admitted that she had made an error and apologised”.
The flight was subsequently diverted to Paris, where Benary was taken by ambulance and treated at two different medical facilities.
Filed under the Montreal Convention – the international treaty that governs liability in international air travel – the lawsuit accuses Singapore Airlines of negligence, arguing the incident meets the legal threshold of an “accident”, defined as an “unexpected or unusual event or occurrence external to the passenger”.