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Not a week passes that we don’t see a viral video of some airplane passenger getting unruly and causing a scene on a flight.

In many cases, these instances turn violent. Other passengers and flight attendants have to be physical with the unruly passenger.

Whether the passenger drank too much alcohol, is upset about having to wear a mask, or just has mental issues, it’s something that puts flight attendants in jeopardy of physical injury.

And this is on top of all of the other flight attendant health risks that these essential workers face.

The North Carolina workers’ comp lawyers at Mehta & McConnell, PLLC have over 30 years of North Carolina workers’ compensation experience. We have experience representing airline employees. 

If you have been injured while working as a flight attendant, no matter how the injury occurred, we are here to help with your flight attendant workers’ compensation claim.

You don’t have to go through this traumatic experience on your own. We are just a quick phone call away.

Workplace Coronavirus Risks

We are now two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and although it seems to be getting better, it doesn’t appear that the ramifications of the virus on our workplaces are going away anytime soon.

This is especially true for the airline industry. The pandemic has significantly increased the health risks of being a flight attendant.

As a flight attendant, if you have contracted the COVID-19 virus and are sick and off work, you may have questions about filing a workers’ comp claim with your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company.

These are difficult cases due to the fact that you can come into contact with the virus anywhere. But they are not impossible to win.

Many airlines negotiated COVID-19 sick leave policies with the flight attendant unions, but sometimes an airline worker has what is commonly referred to as long COVID and is off work for a long period of time.

With these cases, the COVID-19 sick leave policies may not fully protect the sick flight attendant.

Other Flight Attendant Injury Risks

There are many other risks of injury that flight attendants face. Given the fact that their jobs are not just serving drinks and handing out earplugs, this is no surprise.

Being a flight attendant involves a lot of physical exertion.  For flight attendants, injuries can happen any place where they are working, whether in the terminal, on the plane, on the tarmac, or in the air.

Here are some examples of flight attendant injury claims we see in our North Carolina workers’ comp practice:

  • Lifting or moving heavy baggage,
  • Repetitive bending and twisting,
  • Cleaning/servicing the plane,
  • Experiencing mechanical malfunctions that cause injury,
  • Helping disabled passengers,
  • In-flight turbulence,
  • Slippery walking services,
  • Being struck by falling baggage or equipment,
  • Being physically assaulted by a passenger, and
  • Shift work disorder.

Each one of these flight attendant health risks might require a full investigation by our North Carolina workers’ compensation team. If necessary, a claim will be filed on your behalf.

What To Do If Injured as a Flight Attendant?

If you are a flight attendant and believe you have been injured at work, you may be entitled to workers’ comp benefits.

The most important thing for you to do is report the injury immediately. You need to first inform your supervisor and make sure an injury report is made.

Second, inform your union representative so that they know what is going on and can help if possible. The other very important thing to do is seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

This will help you get you back to being healthy, but will also help support your claim.

Every workers’ compensation claim needs to have a doctor diagnose the injury and support that it was caused by work.

The other important thing to do is contact a skilled and knowledgeable North Carolina workers’ comp lawyer.

Sometimes these cases can be simple and take care of themselves without legal representation. But that’s rare. Most of the time these cases are complicated and require legal representation. 

Contact a North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If you have questions about your work injury as a flight attendant, we are only a quick phone call away.

The North Carolina workers’ comp lawyers at Mehta & McConnell have been representing seriously injured workers for over 30 years, including members of the airline industry.

We can answer your questions and develop a plan to make sure you receive all of the workers’ comp benefits you deserve.

Contact Mehta & McConnell today to schedule an initial consultation to learn more about how we can assist you.

Author Photo

Jason McConnell

Jason McConnell is the managing attorney of Mehta & McConnell Injury Lawyers, a Charlotte, North Carolina Workers’ Compensation law firm. In his free time he enjoys playing golf, cooking, traveling and following the UNC Tar Heels and Carolina Panthers.

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