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The Independent

Singapore Airlines flight diverted after business class passenger with severe shellfish allergy served shrimp

A transatlantic flight from Germany to New York City was forced to make an emergency landing in France when a 41-year-old pediatrician with a severe shellfish allergy claims she was served a meal containing shrimp – even after making certain to notify the cabin crew about her ailment. Manhattan resident Doreen Benary was unaware there was shrimp in the dish until it was too late, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday and obtained first by The Independent. The complaint says she soon 'fell violently ill,' and the Singapore Airlines 777-300ER diverted to Paris, where Benary was 'transported by ambulance and underwent emergency medical treatment at two separate medical facilities.' Benary's 'adverse reaction to shrimp and the consequential injuries suffered as a result thereof' were due to the carrier's negligence, not any fault of her own, according to the complaint. Of all food allergies, those related to shellfish are among the most dangerous. In severe instances, sufferers can go into anaphylactic shock, a potentially deadly reaction that shuts down the body's airways and can be fatal without immediate medical intervention. A Mayo Clinic case report described a 20-year-old woman with a shellfish allergy who suffered near-fatal anaphylaxis shortly after kissing her boyfriend, who had eaten shrimp earlier that evening. Attorney Abram Bohrer, who is representing Benary, told The Independent he was unable to discuss the lawsuit without her permission. Singapore Airlines did not respond on Wednesday to a request for comment. On October 8, 2024, Benary boarded Singapore Airlines flight SQ026 from Frankfurt to John F. Kennedy International Airport, and took her seat in the business class cabin, according to her complaint. Upon getting on the aircraft, it says Benary told the flight attendants that she 'suffered from a food allergy, specifically to shrimp.' 'Despite the aforesaid warnings, during the course of the subject flight's meal service, a member of [the] cabin crew served [Benary] a meal containing shrimp,' the complaint goes on. Benary was 'unaware that the meal she had been served… contained shrimp until she had ingested a portion' of it, the complaint states. 'Nearly immediately after ingesting a portion of said meal,' the complaint continues, Benary 'detected the presence of shrimp and began to feel ill, wherein she questioned the flight attendant who admitted that she had made an error and apologized.' That's when Benary took a turn for the worse, becoming 'violently ill, requiring the aircraft to perform an emergency diversion to Paris, France,' according to the complaint. There, it says Benary was rushed to the hospital, then a second facility, enduring 'painful emergency medical treatment' in both. One of the cabin crew's responsibilities was 'to be aware of the seriousness of[,] and respond appropriately[,] when advised of a passenger's food allergy,' Benary's complaint argues. 'Thus,' it contends, 'when a cabin crew member was placed on notice of a passenger's food allergy, said crew member had a duty of care to ensure that meals containing such allergens or their ingredients were not served to that particular passenger.' Benary's complaint does not say whether or not she was carrying an EpiPen, a self-administered auto-injector that delivers a life-saving dose of epinephrine in emergencies. However, current FAA regulations do not require airlines to carry easy-to-use EpiPens in their first-aid kits, but only vials of epinephrine, which require a trained medical professional to measure out, calculate the proper concentration, and administer by syringe, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Severe allergic reactions aboard aircraft are exceedingly rare, but they do occur. In 2019, a flight from Miami to Philadelphia was forced to make an emergency landing when a passenger with an acute nut allergy found herself unable to breathe as flight attendants handed out packets of mixed nuts as a snack. In 2022, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore diverted to Honolulu when another passenger with a nut allergy suffered a serious reaction over the Pacific. Last year, a Delta passenger with a life-threatening shellfish allergy claimed she was thrown off a flight to Boston after informing the cabin crew of her condition, saying the first-class meal included shellfish and that 'they couldn't not serve it.' Benary's complaint says the frightening midair incident caused her 'great pain, agony and mental anguish,' and that she subsequently suffered economic and non-economic losses. She is now demanding 'full, fair and reasonable damages' in an amount to be determined at trial.