Airline passenger sues after bag falls on head

An woman is suing an airline and an unidentified passenger after a bag fell on her head during boarding.

Megan Hoffman filed a lawsuit Feb. 14 in the Cook County Circuit Court against United Continental Holdings Inc., UAL Corporation, doing business as United Airlines, and John Doe, citing negligence.

According to the suit, Hoffman boarded a flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on May 22, 2012.

She claims she was sitting in her seat when six standby passengers boarded the plane and one of them, an unidentified John Doe, attempted to put his oversized bag into the overhead bin.

Another bag fell out when he pushed his bag into the bin, and the second bag landed on Hoffman's head, causing severe and permanent injury, according to the suit.

Hoffman alleges the airline was negligent by allowing passengers to put their bags in the bins unsupervised and by refusing to identify the John Doe passenger.

She is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of the court and is being represented by Kent Sinson of Sinson Law Group.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L001574.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Cook County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.