陶大卫强悍背景让美联航遭殃?

显示美联航乘客陶大卫遭暴力驱逐下机的视频一经曝光立刻在网上疯传。在陶大卫的律师公开表示可能会对美联航采取法律行动后，有关陶大卫及其背景的各种传言便在社交媒体上不断涌现。“美联航这下惨了！陶大卫拥有强悍社会背景和地位，他可利用法律界广泛的人脉资源，让航空公司吃不了兜着走。”

 

A video showing United Airlines passenger David Dao was forcibly dragged off the airplane has instantly gone viral. In the wake of Dao’s lawyer public speech indicating possible legal actions against the airline, stories about Dao and his background have flooded the social media. “American Airlines is in big trouble, as Dao, a doctor with a powerful and privileged role in the society, can tap into the vast legal resources to take actions against the airline . 

 

在中国，也许社会地位和人际关系是在法律战役中击败对手的重要法宝。在一个关系比知识能力更重要的社会里，医生可以通过其行医执照而建立起广泛的社会关系网，而凭着这张网，他能在其人生道路上如鱼得水，左右逢源。如果你曾得罪某个人，你最好希望受害者不是法律装备充足的权势人物，而是一名除了默默忍受屈辱而别无选择的弱势无名小卒。

Maybe social status and personal connections are all that needed to launch a legal battle against a rival in China. In a society where whom you know matters more than what you know, a doctor can build extensive social networks through his practices that allow him to achieve his personal goals in almost all circumstances of his life. If you have ever hurt or offended someone, you’d better hope and pray that the victim is not an authoritative figure with vast legal arsenals at his disposal, but a weak and marginalized small guy, whose only choice to the insult is to swallow the humiliation silently.  

 

但是在美国，赢得法律战役的重要契机是受害者的被辱经历，而非其广袤的人际关系。的确，陶大卫已经聘请芝加哥鼎鼎有名的人身损害律师Thomas Demetrio为自己讨公道。经验丰富的Demetrio以出色的诉讼技能著称，尤其擅长航空诉讼。据Demetrio的个人简介称，他在2014年被《国家法律期刊》评为诉讼律师界50名“开拓者和先驱者” 之一，并一直被公认为伊利诺斯州最顶尖的辩护律师之一。

But in the US, a victim’s traumatic experience, instead of his strong social connection, is a powerful legal remedy. Indeed, Dao has hired Thomas Demetrio, a prominent personal injury lawyer in Chicago.  Demetrio is renowned for his litigation skills, with plenty of experience when it comes to air travel. According to his bio, Demetrio was named one of the National Law Journal’s 50 “Trailblazers and Pioneers” in litigation in 2014, and has often been recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in the state of Illinois. 

 

但是对于Demetrio来说，陶大卫只是一个影响力甚广的受害者而不是一名受人尊崇的医生，他的惨痛遭遇在全球激起公愤，并引发航空乘客的强烈共鸣。Demetrio之所以决定成为陶大卫的法律代表，是因为他看到一场人身伤害案官司中的强大法律依据，以及该案可获得的巨大索赔潜力。

But to Demetrio, Dao is an influential victim, rather than a prestigous doctor whose plight has stirred fierce outrage around the globe and deeply resonated with a flying public. He has decided to legally represent him because he has seen the merit of personal injury claim and the enormous potential settlement value in a lawsuit. 

在人身损害索赔案中，赔偿金额主要是取决于给受害者造成伤害的性质和原因。在本案中，陶大卫在事件中身体严重受伤，他不仅有明显脑震荡，而且鼻梁骨折并磕掉两颗门牙，必须接受恢复性的整形手术。Demetrio明确指出，美联航要对在拖拽陶大卫出机舱的过程中所使用的不合理武力和暴力承担责任。

In personal injury claims, the value of the case largely depends on nature and the cause of the injury. In this case, Dao has been severely injured in the incident. He has suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and lost two front teeth and needs reconstructive surgery. Demetrio clearly indicates that United Airlines was responsible for the unreasonable force and violence used in yanking Dao out of the plane. 

很显然，律师热衷于接手引人瞩目的案件，而陶大卫事件已经引发全球关注。据估计，仅在中国就有2.7亿人通过社交媒体知晓了此事件。Demetrio在事后召开的新闻发布会更是吸引了全世界数十亿观众观看，他也因此成为全球瞩目的焦点人物，名气和声望急剧飙升。随着陶大卫成为航空公司粗暴行为的受害典型，Demetrio也有可能藉此汇集更多有类似经历的受害者，从而有可能带动一场影响力更大，赔偿金额更高的集体诉讼。

Apparently, lawyers love high profile cases. Dao’s incident has gone viral worldwide. An estimated 270 million people have seen it on social media just in China alone. And Demetrio’s press conference following the incident has attracted billions of audiences across the globe, putting him under international spotlight and bringing him soaring popularity and fame. With Dao becoming a poster child for airline’s abusive practices, Demetrio can collect more victims from public with similar experiences, so that a class actions lawsuit, with more powerful influence and settlement values, would loom large.  

虽然陶大卫是医生，但他却有着不光彩的过去，而美国当局也并未因为他的社会地位和背景而对他的不法行为视而不见。在被控98项与药品相关的罪名后，陶大卫在2005年被判以处方药物换取同性性行为罪成，这也迫使他放弃在肯塔基州的行医执照。虽然陶大卫在2015年得以恢复行医，但却仍然受到一定限制。去年，医学委员会对陶大卫施以更加严格的限制，只允许他每周在门诊部从事内科诊疗一天。

While Dao is a doctor, he has a troubled past and his social status had failed to make the authority turn a blind eye to his misconducts.  He was convicted for trading drugs for gay sex in 2005, after facing 98 felony drug charges, which forced him to surrender his license to practice medicine in Kentucky. He was abled to practice medicine again in 2015 but with restrictions. Last year, the medical board imposed even more restrictions – allowing him to practice internal medicine in an outpatient facility only one day a week.

 

很显然，陶大卫的“强悍背景和特殊社会地位”在其法律战中并未扮演任何角色，但他在此次飞行行程中以一名无辜的弱势乘客身份所遭受的人格屈辱和人身损害为他提供了进行诉讼的法律武器，并因此导致美联航陷入有史以来最恐怖的噩梦。

Apparently, Dao’s “power and privilege” has played no role in his legal claim, but the insult and physical harm he endured on that flight -- as an innocent and powerless passenger -- have given him the legal weapon to sue and led to the airline’s worst nightmare in history.