Southwest Airlines Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed By Flight Attendant After Husband Dies On Plane

A Southwest Airline flight attendant claims the carrier is responsible for her husband’s death. Kelly Ilczyszyn has accused airline staffers of leaving her 46-year-old husband to die in the bathroom when he suffered a heart attack during a flight. The widow, who is a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the airline for the alleged “failure to act” by staff.

Richard Ilczyszyn was reportedly groaning and crying in the Southwest Airline bathroom while having a heart attack. According to the Orange County widow’s wrongful death lawsuit, the agony of her financial broker husband could easily be heard on the Southwest Airline plane as it prepared to land.

Kelly Ilczyszyn claims that the Southwest Airlines flight attendants did not immediately seek medical help for her husband and instead evacuated all of the other passengers before attending to him. The man was allegedly left in misery as others departed from the plane.

A Southwest Airlines representative has reportedly defended the action of the flight attendants on the Orange County bound plane. The airline spokesperson said that staff has been trained to treat screaming, crying, and similar behavior coming for the bathroom as a “security risk.”

A report by the local sheriff reportedly stated that Richard Ilczyszyn’s foot was wedged in the Southwest Airlines bathroom door as he called out in pain at the end of the flight. The Orange County man had been returning from a business trip.

Southwest Airlines staffers reportedly claimed that Richard Ilczyszyn was an “unruly passenger.” Kelly Ilczyszyn shared what she was told about her husband’s final moments during an interview with CBS News.

“He should have been helped on the aircraft. If they just would have gotten help. One flight attendant said she opened the door and she saw the top of my husband’s head and his head was down and he was just whimpering, and [she] left him there. The paramedics should have met the aircraft. Absolutely. Absolutely. And he would be here today.”

The widow and Southwest Airlines flight attendant also shared what she felt should have occurred to help save her husband’s life.

“I know if a passenger is in distress we need to help them. We need to figure out, is he okay, does he need medical attention, what’s going on. And so I was very confused why they didn’t help my husband.”

Kelly Ilczyszyn also told the media that in addition to being involved in the Southwest Airlines wrongful death lawsuit, she is also focused on caring for the couple’s little girl, Sydney. The grieving widow said telling their daughter that her father had died was the worst experience of her life.

“My daughter and her father were so close. I just said, ‘Daddy’s not coming home. Daddy went to heaven.'”

Richard Ilczyszyn was the founder of the independent brokerage firm iiTrader. He reportedly spent 10 years as a Chicago floor trader and appeared often as a financial commentator on television news shows.

[Image via: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]