- Dr Doreen Benary was served a meal containing shrimp despite notifying the crew of her shellfish allergy.
- She, 41, suffered a severe allergic reaction requiring an emergency landing in France.
- Dr Benary is suing Singapore Airlines for damages due to negligence and ongoing suffering.
A US woman is suing Singapore Airlines (SIA) after allegedly suffering a severe allergic reaction mid-air, claiming that the crew served her a meal containing shrimp even though she had informed the cabin crew of her ailment. According to CNA, Dr Doreen Benary, who works in pediatric emergency medicine in New York, said that she had informed one or more crew members after boarding the flight from Germany to New York that she suffers from a shellfish allergy. However, Dr Benary, who was in the Business Class, was allegedly served a meal containing shrimp, which she was unaware of until it was too late.
Dr Benary ate a portion of the meal, and she soon "detected the presence of shrimp and began to feel ill," the outlet reported. The 41-year-old then claimed that she questioned the flight attendant, who admitted she had made an error and apologised.
Subsequently, Dr Benary suffered a severe allergic reaction and "fell violently ill," which required the aircraft to make an emergency landing in France. There, she was transported by ambulance and underwent emergency medical treatment at two separate medical facilities.
In her complaint, the physician said she had suffered, and will continue to suffer from great pain, agony and mental anguish, and that she was required to undergo painful, emergency medical treatment. Her "adverse reaction to shrimp and the consequential injuries suffered as a result thereof" were due to the carrier's negligence, not any fault of her own, the complaint states.
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One of the cabin crew's responsibilities was "to be aware of the seriousness of, and respond appropriately, when advised of a passenger's food allergy," Dr Benary's complaint argues.
"Thus," it contends, "when a cabin crew member was placed on notice of a passenger's food allergy, said crew member had a duty of care to ensure that meals containing such allergens or their ingredients were not served to that particular passenger," the complaint states.
The 41-year-old claimed that the incident caused her to be "deprived of her enjoyment of life, pursuits and interests," which she believes she will continue to be deprived of.
Dr Benary is now demanding that SIA pay "full, fair and reasonable damages" in an amount to be determined at trial.
