Who Is United Airlines Passenger Dr. David Dao?
After a video of Dr. David Dao being dragged off of United Airlines flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville went viral, the 69-year-old physician has found himself thrust, willing or not, into the national spotlight. In a press conference Thursday morning with his lawyers and his daughter, we learned Dao intends to take legal action against both United Airlines and the city of Chicago.
Here's what else we learned:
Dao is a doctor in Kentucky
This whole incident started when Dao refused to give up his seat on a flight from Chicago to Louisville because he needed to get back to see his patients. According to People magazine, "His license permits him to practice internal medicine at an outpatient facility once a week." Dao's wife Teresa is also a doctor, and has a pediatric practice in Elizabethtown.
Dao has five children.
His daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper, spoke at Thursday's press conference:
"On behalf of my dad and my entire family, we would like to express our gratitude for the huge outpouring of prayers love and concern that we have received from all over the world these past few days. We would also like to thank the physicians, the nurses and all of the hospital staff that has taken care of my dad. It has been a very difficult time for our entire family, especially my dad and we are truly grateful for all of your support."
And when asked about her father, Pepper further said,
"My dad is a wonderful father. He has raised, with my mother, five great children who have gone on to do great things, and will continue to do great things. He is a loving grandfather, and at the end of the day, that is the person who we are trying to protect and take care of."
Four of Dao's five children are doctors.
For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.
During Thursday's media event, Pepper revealed that what happened to her father has turned her whole family's lives upside down. "As my immediate family, and my husband and children are here in Chicago, we are deeply affected by it," she said. "Our lives have been interrupted and our normalcy is not where it was on Sunday morning."
It is also affecting her four siblings, all of whom are doctors. "My siblings who all have thriving careers and are in graduate schools, their lives have been interrupted," she said. "As some of you may know, they’re in the healthcare field, and they are trying their best to do their job without further interruption from local media, whomever might be stepping into their lives right now."
Dao is a Vietnamese refugee.
Despite some initial speculation that Dao was of Chinese descent, his daughter clarified during Thursday's event that her mother and father had both immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. His lawyer, Tom Demetrio, revealed that Dao compared what happened on that flight to the fall of Saigon:
"He said that he left Vietnam in 1975 when Saigon fell, and he was on a boat and he said he was terrified," Demetrio said, sharing a conversation he had with his client. "He said that being dragged down the aisle was more horrifying and harrowing than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam.”
His injuries will require surgery.
Dao was discharged from the hospital Wednesday night and he is still recovering from a number of ailments including a concussion, a broken nose, and injury to the sinuses. He is also now missing multiple teeth, and will be undergoing reconstructive surgery, according to his lawyer.
You Might Also Like
