Airline ignores surgeon’s request for refund after assisting in medical emergency

On November 27, 2024By Littum

“That’s why I work so hard,” orthopedic surgeon and TikTok creator Dr. Erin Nance admitted that she had finally earned business class tickets for her Italian summer vacation. Unfortunately, just an hour into the flight, an announcement was made of a medical emergency on board.

Nance offered her help, and eventually she and her husband gave up their business-class seats for the sick passenger and her son. Shockingly – or perhaps not, given the profit-driven mentality of airlines today – the airline refused to provide any compensation to the doctor despite saving the plane from being diverted.

American Airlines ignored a surgeon who asked for a refund after giving up his business class seat to help with a medical emergency.

The doctor explained that a passenger on the American Airlines flight had two medical emergencies, the second of which made it difficult for her to get up from a lying position.

“I asked the flight attendants if there was anywhere she could lie because she was on the floor in front of the bathroom,” Nance said. “She said, ‘No. This is a completely full flight.'”

The doctor generously offered to give up her and her husband’s business class seats for the woman and her adult son so they could lie down and the plane would not have to be diverted to Nova Scotia as the pilot suggested.

“I just wanted to make sure she could get through the flight safely,” she added. “Let’s make her comfortable.”

Nance’s kind offer resulted in her and her husband spending the rest of the flight in “possibly the worst seats on the plane.”

“We couldn’t even sit back for the rest of the night flight,” she added.

After the flight, the surgeon was ghosted by the airline.

While on the plane, the attendants were grateful for the woman’s actions and offered her and her husband free food and drinks.

“Honestly, I just wanted some work done,” she said. “I didn’t need any of the extra stuff they tried to give me.”

What she wanted; was, however, a refund for the expensive seats that she did not enjoy.

“It was a lot of money for us to book those tickets,” she explained. “While I would 100% do it again and volunteer my seat to make this woman comfortable, I thought I should get a refund.”

But even after filling out a form on the American Airlines website, weeks went by with no response. She was largely ignored.

The doctor insisted that she should not have had to ask for reimbursement at all.

Of course, only after posting his viral TikTok did Nance get any sort of response. Still, it wasn’t what she hoped for.

The surgeon received an email and a phone call from American Airlines claiming that because she booked with British Airlines for her flight abroad, they would not be able to directly issue a refund and offered some miles instead.

“All the comments confirmed my opinion that I shouldn’t have had to ask,” the doctor added in a follow-up video. “This was about doing the right thing. I will always respond to these medical emergencies. As a doctor, I feel it is a duty and a privilege to be able to help people in their need.”

Commenters praised the doctor for helping her fellow passenger and encouraged her to continue making videos about her plight, as bad publicity seemed to be the only thing that got any kind of response from the airline.

Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a BA in Social Relations & Politics and Gender Studies, focusing on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.