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Family Sues American Airlines After Young Woman Died On Flight That Made No Emergency Landing

Brittany Oswell vomited and defecated on herself before her pulse stopped.

The family of a 25-year-old South Carolina woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against American Airlines after she died aboard a flight that never attempted an emergency landing.

According to court records, Brittany Oswell and her husband, Cory, were on an American Airlines flight from Honolulu to Dallas when she became ill, reported WSFA.

A few hours after their plane departed Hawaii, Brittany, who was a nurse, became dizzy, disoriented, began slurring her speech, and fainted.

After Brittany regained consciousness, a doctor who happened to be on the same flight said she was probably having a panic attack.

However, when the plane was flying over Albuquerque, NM, Brittany went to the lavatory, where she vomited and defecated all over herself. This caused the same doctor to instruct flight attendants to inform the captain that the plane needed to make an emergency landing at the closest airport, said the lawsuit.

Despite the doctor's alleged warning, the flight crew never made landing attempt and continued to Dallas, which was about 90 minutes away.

While the flight continued, Brittany stopped breathing and her pulse stopped.  She never regained consciousness and spent three days on life support at Baylor Medical Center.

On April 18, 2016, the doctor diagnosed Brittany with no brain activity, and she was taken off life support.

Her official cause of death was listed as acute massive pulmonary embolism and cardiogenic shock.

Now, her parents and husband are suing American Airlines for negligence for failing to divert the plane, which they believe resulted in Brittany’s death.   

They are seeking damages in an amount to be determined by a jury for severe emotional distress, anxiety, grief, and sorrow.

American Airlines issued the following statement to WSFA:

"We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and we are looking into the details of the complaint."

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