Four flight attendants for American Airlines who claimed that their uniforms made them sick with headaches, bronchitis, swollen eyes, skin rashes, and other ailments were awarded more than $1 million by a California jury.
The verdict against Twin Hill and its ex-parent company, Tailored Brands, was announced by a jury in Alameda County Superior Court last week.
In their lawsuit, the flight attendants claimed that their uniforms contained traces of formaldehyde, toluene and other toxic chemicals linked to health problems.
Resins containing formaldehyde have been used in fabric for years to keep clothes wrinkle-free and make them last longer.
In 2017, more than 400 American Airlines employees filed suit against Twin Hill and Tailored Brands, the makers of uniforms worn by the carrier’s flight attendants.
The jury decided that the uniforms provided by Twin Hill were a “substantial factor in causing harm” to the flight attendants. However, jurors said the company was not negligent in its design of the garments nor in failing to recall them when complaints began to pour in.
Tracey Silver-Charan, a veteran flight attendant living in Los Angeles, was awarded $320,000, according to The Washington Post.
American gave new uniforms to flight attendants in 2016, and many were happy to get them after a decade wearing the same outfit. Complaints soon followed, however.
“I would wake up and my eyes would be completely swollen. I looked like I had been in a boxing match,” Silver-Charan told The Associated Press.
“I was unable to breathe. I often felt like I was going to pass out on the job. I was coming home and my husband was running me to the urgent care.”
A 2010 study by congressional researchers found that formaldehyde levels in clothing is generally low, but some people suffer allergic reactions including rashes, blisters, and itchy or burning skin. Washing clothes before wearing them can help, but doesn’t always work, the researcher said.
The flight attendants’ lawyers put on witnesses who testified about a 2018 study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, who reported finding a link between new uniforms and health complaints by Alaska Airlines attendants.
American eventually ended the contract with Twin Hill and contracted with Land’s End for uniforms.
Lawyers for Twin Hill put on expert witnesses who discounted the potential health effects of the uniforms.
Silver-Charan said none of the defense experts ever talked to her or asked to test her uniform for chemicals.
The jury proposed $320,000 in lost income and pain and suffering for Silver-Charan and $750,000 in damages for Brenda Sabbatino — the two attendants chosen by their lawyers.
Defense lawyers selected two others who had reported less severe health effects. For them, the jurors proposed $10,000 and $5,000 in damages.
The Post has sought comment from Twin Hill and American Airlines.
With Post Wires
Credit: Source link
