A man who claims his eardrum was ruptured during a rapid loss of cabin pressure during an April flight from Las Vegas is suing the airline operating the flight and the companies who built the aircraft and the cabin pressurization system that allegedly failed.
Randy L. Warne filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Southwest Airlines, The Boeing Company and Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation over the April 24 incident he said has resulted in injuries leading to inflammation of his middle ear and hearing loss, among other conditions.
According to the complaint, Warne was a passenger aboard a Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Milwaukee when the aircraft, a Boeing 737, experienced “a cabin depressurization,” or at least conditions leading the crew to believe there had been a depressurization, causing the pilots to perform “an emergency descent” from a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet. Warne indicated a cabin pressure panel, made by Hamilton Sundstrand, may have failed, leading to the sudden descent.
The actions, he alleges, caused his eardrum to rupture, resulting in the other associated symptoms.
Warne’s complaint includes allegations of negligence against Southwest Airlines and of negligence and product liability against Boeing and Hamilton Sundstrand.
He has requested unspecified damages, plus interest and costs.
He is represented by the Nolan Law Group, of Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 15-L-6118