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Man dragged off United flight plans to sue

Posted at 4:24 PM, Apr 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-13 17:24:01-04

The attorney of David Dao, the man dragged off a United Airlines flight earlier this week, says he definitely plans to sue the airline and the city of Chicago for what transpired and the injuries Dao sustained.

Attorney Thomas Demetrio says he has requested all evidence in the case be preserved so they can bring forward a complete lawsuit.

"I would defy anyone to suggest that there was not an unreasonable amount of force used to help Dr. Dao disembark that plane," Demetrio said in a press conference Thursday.

Demetrio says Dao received a concussion, broken nose and two teeth knocked out as he was dragged off the plane.

Dao's head reportedly smashed against a plane's armrest.

Three Chicago Department of Aviation security officers are now on leave during the investigation of the incident.

Dao's daughter Crystal Dao Pepper also spoke during the press conference.

"What happened to my dad should have never happened to any human being regardless of the circumstance," she said.

The press conference comes just a day after more video was posted showing Dao prior to the dragging.

The video shows him calm, but adamant he wasn't leaving the plane.

"No, I'm not going," Dao says in the video. "You can drag me, but I'm not going."

United's CEO said he felt "ashamed" in an interview with Good Morning America. That was a reversal from his earlier assertion that Dao was being belligerent and had to be forcibly removed.

United says it randomly selected Dao because it needed to put crew members on the sold-out flight to Louisville, Kentucky.

Dao was released from the hospital on Wednesday.