Wife died in after airlines said she was too overweight


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It was her own fault for refusing treatment, but the airline isn't entirely blameless in this. They got her out there and they should have gotten her back. I would have no problems ruling for the family in this.

Maybe she wasn't as big on the way out or perhaps she was just lucky that the outbound flight had the extra equipment needed to transport her. Either way I can't understand why she didn't go to a hospital in Hungary if she was that ill and the claim about wanting to be with familiar doctors doesn't make much sense. Maybe she didn't have travel insurance.

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What part of diabetes and kidney failure causing water weight is her fault?

I don't blame her for her obsesity whatsoever, it is clearly due to medical circumstances she can't control, however she clearly was not fit to travel in the first place, as aining water weight was a possibility that could tip her over the edge of what a commercial aircraft can handle preventing her safe return, and if she still wanted to take the risk anyway despite this, she should have allowed for the possibility that she would be stranded there unless she seeks local medical attention before either 1. losing enough weight to be able to fly home 2. take a ship back home 3. get a medical evacuation charter flight which can handle the load (unlikely that travel insurance would cover - this is caused by a pre-existing medical condition) 4. accept that she is stuck back in her native country and live the rest of her days there.

Looks like Option #4 happened by default.

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Seats. She was actually assigned three seats but they couldn't support her weight, nor could they fasten the seatbelt even with the extender.

Which is why the airline cannot be sued for 'failing to protect those with disabilities' because ultimately the staff considered her safety on the aircraft and they have no responsibility beyond that.

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Neither of the couple trusted the doctors in Hungary, especially because they wouldn?t be familiar with her lengthy medical history, Janos said.

?She was very ill and did not trust that the hospitals in former communist Hungary could attend to her needs,? Ronai said.

Personally I don't have much sympathy for obese people. These two sentences solidified my stance regarding this situation. She had the option of medical attention, and she didn't take it because she didn't trust them. That decision worked out well for her...

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While I am disgusted by people who have no self control when it comes to their body, her obesity was due to disease.

I'm sorry, which diseas actually makes you weigh in at 425lbs? This will sound rude but if you're already going 350+, go see a doctor or get your fat ass into a gym.

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Exactly. Let's say the plane was forced to make an unscheduled emergency landing and this woman was injured. Bet you her husband would also be considering a lawsuit then. She shouldn't have traveled to Hungary in the first place if she's was so concerned about declining health and the doctors not being able to tend to her needs adequately.

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I'm sorry, which diseas actually makes you weigh in at 425lbs? This will sound rude but if you're already going 350+, go see a doctor or get your fat ass into a gym.

Indeed. Let's ignore the failing organs and missing limbs.

Hey quadriplegic dude. I'm sorry that you're paralyzed below the neck, but get your fat ass to the gym.

Think about how stupid that sounds.

Same in this case. She had failing organs and a missing limb. Yes let's just take her to the gym...that will fix everything.

/Facepalm

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Not at all. Amputation is a common consequence of diabetes, which is a weight-related medical condition. As for her kidney failure, given her weight it's entirely probable it was related to diabetic kidney disease; the article even mentions diabetes.

All of her conditions can be attributed to her excessive weight and could just as easily be explained without an underlying medical condition.

As I said, I don't dispute that many people have legitimate medical conditions that cause them to be overweight or that this might have been the case with her. But too often people are quick to blame everybody else rather than accept responsibility, which is especially true in this situation where they seem to have rejected medical treatment due to fear of doctors not knowing her medical history and distrust of the institutions. There are a lot of questionable statements and omissions in the article that cause me to be suspicious.

PS - I'm sorry to hear about your mother and I know this is obviously an issue close to your heart. Obviously I mean no offence. My doubts are speculation on my part but I believe they are well founded.

No offense taken.

I also thought I should point out that your understanding of diabetes is flawed. I don't say that as an insult, but as a point of discussion.

There are different types of Diabetes, and different causes. Some are related to weight, some are genetic, some related to surgical errors.

This is a case where things went wrong on several fronts. We probably won't ever know the full story for sure.

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I also thought I should point out that your understanding of diabetes is flawed. I don't say that as an insult, but as a point of discussion.

There are different types of Diabetes, and different causes. Some are related to weight, some are genetic, some related to surgical errors.

I'm aware of that but even if we assume that her diabetes was genetic - and that's a big 'if' - it would not have caused her weight gain in-and-of-itself, yet the weight gain would have exacerbated her diabetes. There are lots of factors involved but if her weight was that much of an issue then family and doctors should have intervened. Judging by their reluctance to see doctors even when her health was critical I would assume that social factors played a bigger role that genetic factors, but as you say we'll likely never know.

Even if her condition was entirely genetic and out of her control, she, her husband, family and doctors should have taken action to prevent it becoming so much of an issue. She should never have been allowed to get up to such a ridiculous weight.

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I'm aware of that but even if we assume that her diabetes was genetic - and that's a big 'if' - it would not have caused her weight gain in-and-of-itself, yet the weight gain would have exacerbated her diabetes. There are lots of factors involved but if her weight was that much of an issue then family and doctors should have intervened. Judging by their reluctance to see doctors even when her health was critical I would assume that social factors played a bigger role that genetic factors, but as you say we'll likely never know.

Even if her condition was entirely genetic and out of her control, she, her husband, family and doctors should have taken action to prevent it becoming so much of an issue. She should never have been allowed to get up to such a ridiculous weight.

That's why I pointed out my mother.

Her water weight gain has been crazy. I can look at her and see how severely bloated she is, and even top specialists are having to figure out how to solve the problem.

This most recent case has been going on for about a year. An entire team of specialists are working on it. In her case the fluid build up may lead to an amputation if they can't solve it.

That's why I said we may never know the full situation. If I didn't have my own mother going through this I might well have sided with folks pointing at her and hubby.

Sometimes our bodies just do not behave. Heck thanks to childhood epilepsy I have myoclonic jerks. They are why I couldn't serve in the military, why I refuse to drive, and why I couldn't study medicine. :(

Most people when they find out I can't drive assume I'm some loser or mental. It is easy to assume the worst in odd cases. ;)

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Rather than providing special beds and lifting equipment for them, I would be providing fitness equipment (and personal trainer), and put them on a proper diet with a professional.

They have no idea how much better they will feel.

Many of them become overweight to get government assistance so they don't have to work - pure laziness.

ALTHOUGH, I understand for some it could be a medical condition. My main argument is against people who cheat the system.

Prevention is better than cure.

In regards to the first post, the airport should have had plans for a situation like this (I am sure they would now). In Australia, OHS is on top of the list - they go overboard with it here.

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This is her own fault. She had diabetes and lost a leg. That alone tells the world that she wasn't taking care of herself. The lose of limbs is 100% preventable with diabetes 1 and 2. That is the one thing they remind you of constantly when taking your diabetes courses as well as every time you go to the doctor. To top it off she choose to not seek medical attention where she was when she needed it. Had she boarded the plane, she would have died in the air anyway as it is about a 10-12 hour flight. The fact that the crew and firefighters couldn't get her in a seat shows that she needed to get care immediately, not after a 10-12 hour flight. Also, missing from the story is why she didn't get care in Germany if she was there to board a plane at one point. I can see people being skeptical about Hungary, but Germany? Sure it is extremely expensive to get healthcare in Germany, but at least you are alive. This woman failed to take care of herself, pure and simple. The reason Diabetes lose their limbs is because they don't seek medical attention immediately for infections on their limbs. Any time I cut my foot at all, I have to report to my doctor immediately.

On a side note, I am a bit annoyed that they didn't say if she had type 1 or type 2 Diabetes. The two are completely different issues.

Rather than providing special beds and lifting equipment for them, I would be providing fitness equipment (and personal trainer), and put them on a proper diet with a professional.

You can have a professional telling you what to eat all day and it wouldn't make the difference. You are still going to eat what you want.

Sounds to be like she was going to die no matter what. But someone always has to be blamed.

With that said, the airlines should've just let her on. But when you're this big, and have such ****ty health, special accommodations for traveling should be taken anyways.

If she would have died on the flight, they would have been sued anyways. Had they been successfully found at fault, all the other passengers would have then sued also for being put through the drama. Besides, it is illegal from airlines to allow anyone to fly without the proper safety mechanisms in place. They would have been fined by the government for not following the law and for a much larger amount. Being on a plane and traveling is not a right. If it was such an emergency to get her stateside, they should have went to the embassy where they would have gotten her an emergency military flight.
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You can all keep arguing all day about whether it was her fault or not that she was in that state. However we just don't have enough facts to go on.

We don't know whether her condition is caused by her weight or vise versa. Either is as likely as the other.

What we do know is that the airline acting according to designated S.O.P's as it should have done.

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The woman shouldn'to have been traveling. Her rich fat ass should've flown a doc to her location. The airline is not at fault. Shane defending the woman. People make choices and need to live with the consequences. In these situation it means die. Too many people want entitlements and too many politicians pander to it. Enough.

Let this thread end already

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Lets not forget that diabetes is not always caused by bad diet/lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition which you can have from birth. The problems with auto-immune conditions (or any illness for that matter) is that side effects from the condition + drugs can be just as destructive as the original condition. certain drugs can damage organs and/or have weight-gain as a side-effect.

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Lets not forget that diabetes is not always caused by bad diet/lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition which you can have from birth. The problems with auto-immune conditions (or any illness for that matter) is that side effects from the condition + drugs can be just as destructive as the original condition. certain drugs can damage organs and/or have weight-gain as a side-effect.

Bingo. This scenario (except it was a surgical error) coupled with a couple other conditions is precisely where my mom sits.

She may lose an eye and a foot...all due to complications. As I said earlier, even the specialists are winging it to an extent.

That's why when certain folks (not you) try to speak like a medical authority when it is obvious they are not it is irritating. :p

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She shouldn't have traveled to Hungary in the first place if she's was so concerned about declining health and the doctors not being able to tend to her needs adequately.

How did she get to Hungary in the first place? Was it perhaps by plane?

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it doesn't matter, the husband will get a settlement if he wants, guaranteed.

For the sake of the rest of society, let's hope not. This is complete nonsense. But then half the USA is full of nonsense believing BS as it is....

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