Attorneys for Melissa Arzu, Greenidge’s mother, filed the lawsuit against American Airlines in federal court in Fort Worth on Monday.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A woman has sued Fort Worth-based American Airlines over the 2022 death of her 14-year-old son, alleging their flight’s on-board defibrillator did not work and that the flight crew didn’t know how to use it.
Kevin Greenidge, who lived in New York City, died while returning home from a summer vacation in Honduras, according to the lawsuit.
Attorneys for Melissa Arzu, Greenidge’s mother, filed the lawsuit against American Airlines in federal court in Fort Worth on Monday.
American Airlines officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Greenidge, who was traveling with his family two years ago, lost consciousness shortly after takeoff, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that the American Airlines flight crew were “delayed in responding” to Greenidge’s medical emergency.
When crewmembers “eventually attempted to use” the plane’s automated external defibrillator (AED), they were “either unable to properly operate the machine or the machine did not function properly,” the lawsuit said.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the flight crew was not trained to use the type of AED that was on the flight.
If the flight had the proper type of AED and the crew knew how to use it, then Greenidge’s chances of survival would have “vastly” increased, the lawsuit said.
The flight made an emergency landing in Cancun, where Greenidge was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead.
“After Kevin died, I never heard from American Airlines,” Arzu said in a press release about the lawsuit. “It made me feel hopeless. I want answers from American Airlines. I want American Airlines to take full responsibility for Kevin’s death. I never want this to happen to a child or family again.”