Man Attacked By Emotional Support Dog Sues Delta

Marlin Jackson has filed a lawsuit against Delta Air Lines and the passenger whose emotional support dog attacked him during a flight in June 2017.

According to the lawsuit, Jackson was sitting in a window seat when a dog sitting in the lap of the passenger next to him attacked his face and pinned him against the window of the plane.

“The attack was briefly interrupted when the animal was pulled away from Mr. Jackson. However, the animal broke free and again mauled Mr. Jackson’s face,” the lawsuit alleges.

Jackson bled so heavily that the entire row of seats had to be taken out of the plane. He had lacerations and punctures to his face and upper body, which required 28 stitches. The lawsuit also says that Jackson suffered permanent injury and loss of sensation in areas of his face and went through severe emotional distress and mental anguish.

The lawsuit claims that Delta “took no action to verify or document the behavioral training of the large animal,” such as requiring signed documentation showing the animal is trained and can behave in the airplane setting. “Such measures were feasible at the time but were not in effect until after this attack.”

According to the police report, the dog’s owner, Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. is a military service member with the U.S. Marine Corps who “advised that the dog was issued to him for support.”

The lawsuit accuses Delta of being negligent by letting a passenger on board with a large dog without verification of training or restraints to protect others and failing to warning passengers of the dangers of unsecured animals on its plane.

The lawsuit additionally claims that Mundy “knew or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that his large animal was foreseeably dangerous, especially when confined to the cramped and anxious quarters of the passenger cabin of an airplane.”

Jackson seeks damages for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills and emotional pain from the lawsuit.