The second judgment panel of the 10th Civil Chamber of the Goiás State Court of Justice (TJGO) rejected a civil appeal filed by an airline and ordered it to compensate, for moral and material damage, the family of a young man with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who was prevented from boarding a plane because he could not wear a mask.
The report was written by Justice Wilson Safatle Faiad and his vote was followed unanimously by the jury.
The episode occurred on December 28, 2022, when the family boarded the plane to São Paulo, from where they were to depart for Orlando, United States.
They were already seated in their seats when a flight attendant asked the young man to put on his mask correctly.
Family members explained that he was “nonverbal autistic.” The employee then allegedly asked for an identification badge and a document proving the young man’s state of health.
Documents were not accepted
However, the medical report as well as the prescriptions presented were not accepted and the ground staff removed the family from the plane, which prevented them from making as much of the trip, forcing them to purchase new tickets later.
The court of first instance ordered the airline to pay R$10,000 to each family member for moral damage, in addition to R$48,876.16 for material damage.
In appealing the sentence, the company claimed that the documents presented by the family at the time were not sufficient to allow the young man to continue his journey.
During the analysis of the files, Wilson Safatle Faiad however estimated that the legal relationship, in this case, is that of consumption and that the liability of the carrier is objective, in accordance with article 14 of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC).
Read also
-
Federal District
Celina Leão opens the first reference center for autistic people in DF
-
Federal District
The project provides alternative communication to autistic children in the DF
-
To Mira
Man hits autistic boy in the face for playing in the street
-
Mirelle Pinheiro
12-year-old autistic man reports rape at school; IML confirms
He noted that federal health law exempts the use of a mask by a person with ASD upon medical declaration, a document that was available to the crew at the time of boarding.
Thus, for the judge, it was clear that the behavior of the employees demonstrated claims without legal basis. “All the evidence confirms the existence of a valid medical declaration,” he stressed.
Finally, the judge cited article 187 of the Civil Code, emphasizing that “it is important to emphasize that the controversy is not limited to the discussion of the documents presented, but above all to the way in which the airline treated the family. The evidence demonstrates offensive, disrespectful and insensitive behavior towards the minor’s condition, culminating in public humiliation and threats of police force — demonstrations which go beyond any legitimate exercise of the power to arrange boarding and constitute an abuse of rights.”
About The Author
