11 May 2023 , 21:29
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American Airlines lost a disabled man's artificial leg and refused to buy him a new one, it has been claimed.
Michael Williams says he took a flight from Indianapolis to Charlotte with the airline in 2020.
The prosthetic leg, worth $26,000, was stored in one of his check-in bags but when he arrived at his destination, he said the bag was nowhere to be seen.
Michael said he had even asked the airline to take special care of it when he got to St Louis Airport, but he claims the airline wouldn't help him find it or give him compensation for his lost belongings.
Michael Williams (Newsflash)
He has now set up a Go FundMe appeal to help fundraise for a new leg. (Newsflash)He said American Airlines gave him a cheque for just $600 to cover the cost of the clothes that had been in the case.
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"You can't do this to someone that's disabled and just say, hey, we lost something of yours, but we're not going to pay for it,” he told Fox2Now.
Michael followed up the claim with American Airlines, but a representative of the company told him: "We don't have enough proof or evidence to pay for the leg, so we're not going to pay for the leg”.
The prosthetic leg, worth $26,000, was stored in one of his check-in bags (Newsflash)The airline’s police states that passengers need to supply a reference number, a copy of their ticket receipt and baggage claim checks, as well as their original, dated, and fully itemised receipts in order to receive compensation for lost luggage.
Michael lost his leg in an accident in 2019 and was learning to walk on his new artificial limb when he lost it a year later.
He has now set up a Go FundMe appeal to help fundraise for a new leg.
In his GoFundMe appeal, he said: "I had to learn how to walk all over again with my new prosthetic leg and if I am honest I hated myself for a long while because I felt as if I wasn't complete.
"I felt I like I was a freak, everywhere I would go I had people staring at me point fingers I even had people come up to me while I was in a grocery store, and if I had a soda in my hand they would tell me 'you probably don't need that since you already lost one.'
American Airlines has been approached for comment.