Even if United could pursue legal action, Anthony Rickman, a former prosecutor turned defense attorney in Tampa, said the airline is already facing a public relations nightmare that would only be compounded by an attack on the passengers who captured the incident on video.
United chief executive officer Oscar Munoz on Wednesday issued Dao an apology, saying the company would no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights after global outrage erupted over the way Dao had been treated by airline and airport security staff.
Airlines do have legal protection if they act in a reasonable way when refusing to transport a passenger that is a threat to himself or other passengers, Harakas said.
In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" aired Wednesday, Munoz apologized to Dr. David Dao of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, his family and the other passengers who witnessed him being forcibly removed from the plane. "This can never, will never happen again", he said.
United Airlines has been at the forefront of airline drama this week due to an incident in which an overbooked flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in the violent removal of a passenger.
The filing with an Illinois State court demands that United Airlines and the City of Chicago preserve all surveillance videos, cockpit voice recordings, passenger and crew lists related to the flight. Video shot by passengers showing the man's bloodied face went viral on social media, prompting a storm of protest.
Alderman Mike Zalewski said he did not know who will represent the airline before the Aviation Committee, but Munoz has been notified of the hearing scheduled for Thursday.
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The 300 officers on the Aviation Department's certified police force do not carry weapons (nor have they ever done so), but they have been asking to be armed since the force's founding 30 years ago, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
But on Monday Mr Munoz said Dr Dao's conduct meant employees had been "left with no choice but to call Chicago Aviation Security Officers to assist in removing the customer from the flight". When no one volunteered, the offer was increased to Dollars 800.
The backlash from the incident resonated around the world, with social media users in the United States, China and Vietnam calling for boycotts of the No 3 USA carrier by passenger traffic and an end to the practice of overbooking flights.
One of the officers could be seen grabbing the screaming man from his window seat, across the armrest and dragging him down the aisle by his arms. "But to just randomly say, 'You're getting off the plane, ' that was awful".
The City of Chicago runs O'Hare International Airport.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it was reviewing Sunday's events to see if United violated rules on overselling flights.
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