A federal jury found American Airlines liable for failing to follow its own protocols to help a California chef who suffered two debilitating strokes during an international flight that left him in need of constant care and rehabilitation.

Jesus Plasencia was traveling on a dream vacation with his wife, Ana Maria Marcela Tavantzis, from Miami to Madrid in November 2021 when he suddenly experienced a “mini stroke” shortly before boarding, according to a complaint the couple filed in federal court in 2023. 4

The 67-year-old briefly lost the ability to speak or pick up basic objects like his phone, according to the complaint. His wife notified a flight attendant and the pilot, who dismissed her worries and “joked with Plasencia” before “[clearing] him for take-off,” according to the co

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