MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – After nearly a year paralyzed from a fall at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, family members are mourning 25-year-old Gaby Assouline, who died last week as a result of her injuries.
Assouline’s family blames Southwest Airlines for the fall and has sued the carrier.
Gaby Assouline died on Jan. 22.
According to the lawsuit, on Feb. 25, 2022, Assouline, who, at the age of 12, was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that made it difficult to walk long distances but otherwise allowed her to be highly functional, was boarding Southwest Flight 1002 to Denver to visit her sister.
The lawsuit claims that Assouline’s electric wheelchair hit a junction in the jet bridge, causing her to be thrown from the wheelchair, leading to severe injuries that rendered her paralyzed and forced her to use a ventilator.
Assouline’s mother, Sandra, said the last time she saw her daughter before the accident was when she dropped her off at the gate. The lawsuit states that Sandra Assouline was given an escort pass in order to be able to accompany her daughter past security.
The family’s lawsuit alleges that Southwest Airlines and its contractor, G2 Secure Staff, were careless and, among other things, failed to provide proper wheelchair assistance or instruction, failed to adequately train staff and failed to warn of hazards or dangers in the jet bridge.
Local 10 News spoke to the Assouline family and Solomon at the family’s northeast Miami-Dade home Monday.
“I have five children,” Sandra Assouline said. “My five children should be here. She should be here. Not buried.”
Sandra Assouline said that Gaby was “healthy” and “vibrant” before her fall.
“This is not fair,” Sandra Assouline said.
Solomon, who told Local 10 News that the family believes something in the jet bridge caused her to be ejected, said the Assouline family has spent nearly a year in pain.
“I have watched these people suffer for 11 months, literally every day at the hospital, praying she was going to go home,” Solomon said.
Assouline’s father, Felix, said he held her hand saying a prayer as she died.
“(I said) God is our God in truth,” Felix Assouline said. “When I said ‘truth,’ she passed.”
Southwest Airlines issued a statement regarding Assouline’s death Monday.
“Southwest offers its sincere condolences to Ms. Assouline’s family, friends and all whose lives she touched,” the statement reads. “We have a more than 51-year commitment to caring for our People and Customers and remain engaged with the parties involved.”
Family members set up a GoFundMe page after the “horrific accident” and recently updated the page to note Gaby’s death.