On Sept. 19, 2014, plaintiffs’ decedent Richard Ilczyszyn, 46, a financial analyst, was heard groaning and crying in the bathroom of a Southwest Airlines flight, 10 minutes before the flight was to land. Attendants on the flight from Oakland to Orange County opened the bathroom door, confirmed Ilczyszyn was crying, and quickly closed the door. Once the plane landed, the flight attendants made contact with Orange County sheriff’s deputies and told them that Ilczyszyn was a disruptive passenger who had allegedly barricaded himself inside the bathroom. As a result, the plane was evacuated and the bathroom door was opened. However, Ilczyszyn fell down unconscious. He was then taken to a hospital, where he died. It was ultimately discovered that Ilczyszyn had suffered from a pulmonary embolism. The decedent’s wife, Kelly Ilczyszyn, and his children, Sydney Ilczyszyn, Hannah Ilczyszyn and Logan Ilczyszyn, sued Southwest Airlines Co. and the flight attendants on the subject flight, Christina Green, Jenna Harrison, Cynthia Jenkins, Kristina Lynn Koester, Chris Krawec and Joe Walker. The Ilczyszyn family alleged that Southwest and its employees failed to timely obtain emergency medical care for the decedent and that the delay in treatment led to the decedent’s death. According to plaintiffs’ counsel, they were precluded from putting on evidence regarding causation, including their argument that the flight attendants’ negligence caused a 30-minute delay in getting the decedent medical care once the plane landed, at which time the decedent was found to be brain dead. Defense counsel contended that the decedent had a massive pulmonary embolism and that the decedent still would have died had the event occurred at the hospital. Judge Paul Herbert granted Southwest Airlines immunity under a federal statute, so the matter continued against the flight attendants only., Richard Ilczyszyn suffered a pulmonary embolism and died at the hospital on Sept. 19, 2014. He was 46 years old. He was survived by his wife, Kelly Ilczyszyn; their minor daughter, Sydney Ilczyszyn; his adult daughter from another marriage, Hannah Ilczyszyn; and his adult son from another marriage, Logan Ilczyszyn. The Ilczyszyn family sought recovery of wrongful death damages as well as recovery for the loss of the decedent’s future earnings.