Update: United Airlines reached a settlement with Dr. Dao Thursday, and although the terms are confidential, a statement from Dr. Dao's lawyers said it was "amicable."
The passenger dragged from the United Airlines flight earlier this week suffered a "significant" concussion and broken nose, and he lost two front teeth, one of his lawyers said Thursday.
This story was originally published on April 13, 2017.
Dr. David Dao has been discharged from the hospital but he will require reconstructive surgery, said attorney Thomas Demetrio, whose law firm is representing the 69-year-old Kentucky physician. Dao was violently removed from the plane on Sunday after he refused to give up his seat on a full flight from Chicago, IL, to Louisville, KY.
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One of Dao's five children, Crystal Pepper, said the family was "horrified, shocked, and sickened" to learn and see what happened. She said having her father removed from the Sunday flight was "exacerbated" by the fact that it was caught on video and widely distributed.
Demetrio said he likely will file a lawsuit on Dao's behalf, adding that airlines — and United in particular — have long "bullied" passengers.
In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America that aired Wednesday, United parent company CEO Oscar Munoz said he felt "ashamed" watching the video of the man being forced off the jet. He has promised to review the airline's passenger-removal policy.
Munoz apologized again to Dao, his family, and the other passengers who witnessed him being taken off the flight.
"That is not who our family at United is," he said. "This will never happen again on a United flight. That's my promise."
In the future, law enforcement will not be involved in removing a "booked, paid, seated passenger," Munoz said. "We can't do that."
In an effort to calm the backlash, United also announced that passengers on United Express Flight 3411 would be compensated equal to the cost of their tickets. United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said Wednesday that the passengers can take the compensation in cash, travel credits, or miles.