When Ohio residents get dressed and ready for work every day, the last thing most are thinking about is whether their clothes are poisonous. As preposterous as that notion may sound, though, for thousands of American Airlines employees, the situation is all too real. Workers across the country have gotten sick allegedly due to the toxic materials contained in their work-required uniforms, and the latest incident involving a flight attendant appears to be no exception.
Mere minutes after donning her American Airlines uniform last year, a 25-year-old flight attendant apparently broke out in sweats as her heart began racing. When she started experiencing shortness of breath, she was rushed to the hospital where doctors diagnosed her with chemical exposure. Though her life-threatening allergic reaction occurred over a year ago, she has been battling symptoms of her mysterious ongoing illness ever since.
Sadly, she is not alone. Over 6,000 American Airlines employees have lodged similar complaints that hazardous chemicals in their work garments are causing severe health complications. Of the thousands of workers alleging these frightening symptoms, 250 have suffered from problems so serious that they have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the uniforms. The complications range from allergic reactions like hives and rashes to breathing problems, all the way up to serious neurological disorders that have allegedly resulted in brain damage.
When tested, the uniforms apparently contained toxic materials including formaldehyde and even a chemical known as chlordane, which is so dangerous that it has been banned by the EPA. To call the uniform a defective product seems a bit of an understatement as in the case of the flight attendant mentioned, it has left her with serious lasting symptoms and mounting medical costs. Anyone in Ohio who is struggling with health problems or medical bills after exposure to similarly hazardous materials should know that they do not have to fight alone; there are local professionals in the Cleveland area with experience in product liability cases.
Source: fox46charlotte.com, “Lawyer Suing Maker of American Airlines Uniforms For “Toxic Exposure” After Thousands Get Sick“, Dec. 5, 2017
