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Wheelchair Bound Ryanair Passenger Injured On Birmingham Flight

Ashby Digital Agency • May 24, 2021

An ongoing Personal Injury battle for Mr Rooney who sustained a broken arm during a Ryanair flight and continues to live with life-long struggles. 

Series Of Events...

Mr Rooney, a wheelchair bound passenger onboard a Ryanair flight was accompanied by his friend from Birmingham to Portugal. Mr Rooney suffers with a disabling condition (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) which means that he has limited mobility and is only able to use his right hand.


What was meant to be a holiday celebrating his birthday, resulted in a broken arm before the plane had even touched down in Portugal.


Hear how the series of events unfolded resulting in Mr Rooney being left with life-long consequences.

Pre-Flight

Mr Rooney checked in with the airline and was provided with a piece of paper to hand to a member of staff at the gates – this was to advise the staff that Mr Rooney needed assistance boarding the plane and in flight. 


Mr Rooney suffers with a disabling condition which means that he has limited mobility and is only able to use his right hand.


Whilst Ryanair say on their website that they provide wheelchairs to disabled people that fit within the aisle, Ryanair failed to provide Mr Rooney with one despite his disability.


After boarding the flight, Mr Rooney was asked to leave the wheelchair at the back of the plane and his friend was asked to carry him to his seat.

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In-Flight
During the flight, Mr Rooney needed to use the toilet. His friend asked if he could use a bottle as he is not able to sit on the toilet seat (he uses a special toilet seat at home). 

Ryanair staff flatly refused his request and refused to assist him to the toilet, so Mr Rooney had to be carried by his friend to the toilet with no help. At this point, Mr Rooney reports that the onboard staff appeared to be more interested in sales of duty-free items.

Whilst attempting to use the toilet (without assistance from Ryanair staff), Mr Rooney fell banging his arm on the cubicle, and sadly he suffered a fractured arm. 

Mr Rooney's friend reported this incident to the on flight Ryanair staff, their immediate response was laughter. Mr Rooney’s friend thought to make a video on his phone as evidence and the flight Captain made him delete it, allegedly threatening him with arrest if he did not do so.

Post-Flight

This ordeal meant that Mr Rooney’s trip to Portugal was ruined – he did not leave the villa. He took pain killers throughout his holiday to ease the pain and discomfort he was experiencing. Upon his return home, Mr Rooney Heartlands and was diagnosed with a fractured arm.

Hear What Mr Rooney Has To Say...

Life-Long Impacts For Mr Rooney

As a result of the in-flight ordeal with Ryanair, Mr Rooney is experiencing daily struggles.


An Interview with Mr Rooney:

He said: “I used to be able to feed myself before the accident. But since I broke my arm.. I’ve basically lost the ability to feed myself now."


“I struggle to use my phone now because my arm doesn’t do what it was doing before the accident."


“The specialist said under normal circumstances he would recommend it be pinned or plated. But because of my condition they don’t want to put me under anaesthetic."


“It’s made me not want to fly again."

An Ongoing Personal Injury Battle For Ryanair Passenger

Needless to say, Mr Rooney wanted to take legal action and our specialist Personal Injury solicitor, Ian Hass helped Mr Rooney send a formal complaint to Ryanair. Upon sending the complaint, we chased a response but no response was given.


After the GB Paralympic Matt Byrne recently being refused access to fly we are very concerned with their attitude to disabled passengers and have been asked to pursue legal action on behalf of Mr Rooney.

Speak To A Personal Injury Solicitor

Mr Rooney’s case has been picked up by multiple news outlets sharing national coverage of the ordeal:

  • The Mirror
  • The Sun
  • Birmingham Mail
  • The Daily Mail


We’re hopeful that with help of national coverage and our action, we can prevent other passengers with disabilities from experiencing a similar life-changing incident. 

All future updates regarding this ongoing Personal Injury battle will be available on our Facebook Page. 

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