|
October
29 2001 -- The survivors of Lori Mason-Larez, who plunged more than
100 feet to her death from a ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Orange
County, Calif., are suing the amusement park and the ride's
manufacturer, Intamin Ltd., but Sandor Kernacs, president of
Intamin, said the 292-pound woman was "too large to be belted
in properly around her waist". "If the company did
try to limit riders according to weight or waist size, Kernacs said,
advocates for the obese would be quick to challenge the
restrictions. 'Basically we cannot discriminate against
anybody,' he said." (Michelle Dearmond, "Manufacturer says
woman was too big for Knott's ride safety restraint". June 7 -- "Sorry, Slimbo, you're in my seats". Columnist Peter Simpson isn't impressed with the opinion of the Canadian government that, as a matter of handicapped rights, severely overweight airline passengers should be given an extra seat free of charge (Ottawa Citizen/National Post, May 11; Glen McGregor, Treat the obese as disabled, airlines told", Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 10. December 20 -- Obese fliers. A judge has ruled that Southwest Airlines did not unlawfully discriminate against Cynthia Luther, whose weight exceeds 300 pounds, when it required her to buy a second seat on a flight from Reno to Burbank ("Large Passenger Has Suit Dismissed", Yahoo/AP, Dec. 14) (via Drudge). Days earlier, a confidential report from an official agency in Canada recommended that airlines be forbidden to charge highly obese passengers for a second seat, on the grounds that their condition should count as a disability entitled to accommodation. The opinion from the Canadian Transportation Agency promptly came under fire from both directions, with the Air Transport Association of Canada charging that such a rule would be unacceptably expensive, and Helena Spring, founder of the Canadian Association for Fat Acceptance, saying that obesity should be viewed as a healthy condition rather than a disability (Glen McGregor, "Treat the obese as disabled, airlines told", Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 10). December 15-16 -- The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that obesity in itself is not a disability and that airlines are not therefore obliged by law to offer extra seats to severely overweight passengers, although it suggested they consider doing so. |