Family suing American Airlines for losing Alzheimer’s dad
A New York resident plans to sue American Airlines for losing her Alzheimer’s-afflicted father after organizing assistance at LaGuardia Airport.
Keraphline Dupuy dropped off her father Josaphat, who suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia, for a flight to Haiti via Miami but the 52-year somehow went AWOL and was only found three days later 25 miles from the airport.
"I want American Airlines to take responsibility for what happened," Dupuy told the NY Daily News.
"First thing we did was tell the attendant that my father has Alzheimer’s and dementia and he cannot be by himself," said Dupuy.
"We put him in a wheelchair with the attendant, watching him get to the gate and that was the last time we saw my dad."
Dupuy said three days followed of frantic calls to the airline and police, however American has not admitted liability or offered an apology, other than refunding the $300 airfare that was never used.
Dupuy’s dad has no recollection of his three days on the streets last January in frigid overnight temperatures.
He was eventually found after a concerned Brooklyn resident contacted Dupuy.
"This is a textbook case of negligence. We are looking for them to at least acknowledge this even happened," said the family’s attorney Peter Withey.
Due to pending litigation, American declined to comment, the report said.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments