Miami Family Charges American Airlines with Passenger Death

On the heels of its shocking Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, American Airlines now has to deal with a family that claims an in-flight meal killed a passenger.

CNN is reporting that the wife and daughter of the late Othon Cortes of Miami are suing the airline and Sky Chefs for more than $1 million, alleging he ate food contaminated with bacteria during a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to New York.

The incident happened on May 18 after Cortes consumed an in-flight meal that allegedly contained chicken, according to a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in Miami. Cortes' family alleges that his death was caused by poisoned food that American Airlines and Sky Chefs served on the international flight. It accuses the companies of "failing to properly maintain or prepare the food" and alleges the companies allowed the food to become contaminated with Clostridium perfringens bacteria. Sky Chefs has reportedly claimed that it did not cater the flight in question.

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