New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Bridgeport mayor sues airline over dog bite
BRIDGEPORT — Mayor Joe Ganim is seeking more than comfort after he claims an alleged emotional support dog bit him on a Delta Airlines flight.
The mayor is seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit he has filed in state Superior Court against the airline for “serious, severe, painful and permanent injuries” to his “left lower extremity” resulting in scarring and disfigurement, pain and suffering.
The suit states because Delta was not forthcoming about the dog’s medical history Ganim was forced to undergo a series of painful rabies treatments.
“The complaint speaks for itself,” said the mayor’s brother and lawyer, George Ganim Jr. “It wasn’t an emotional support dog and it was removed from the plane.”
Delta officials did not return calls and emails for comment.
According to the lawsuit, on Nov. 10, 2018, Ganim boarded Flight 1841 and while in his assigned seat, he was bitten by a dog that was with a boarding passenger. The suit states at the time the mayor was not “teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog.”
Immediately following the incident, the lawsuit states, Ganim asked the airline whether the dog had all its vaccinations but Delta refused to provide that information. The airline also refused to provide Ganim with the name and contact information of the dog’s owner.
“Delta Airlines Inc. is legally responsible for the incident in that it failed to safeguard the plaintiff from unwarranted harm by allowing a dog neither crated nor muzzled to walk freely on and within the cabin of the plane,” the suit states.
Delta Airlines has reportedly received numerous complaints since it began allowing passengers to bring emotional support dogs onto its planes.
Last year, a man claimed in a lawsuit that he was mauled on a flight by a fellow passenger’s dog and required 28 stitches.
In March 2018, Delta issued rules requiring passengers to provide proof of animal training and the animal’s immunization records before allowing them to board a plane with a dog.