Cancer patient injured after flight, says Air Canada staff failed to properly secure her to wheelchair

Vito Rizzuto wanted his last trip with his wife, Sheila, to be perfect. Earlier this year, Sheila, who is 55, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. She began using a wheelchair after undergoing surgery in February to remove the tumor. When Sheila’s condition worsened in recent months, the couple decided to book a trip to Miami.

But instead of the getaway they dreamed of, an incident disembarking from their Air Canada flight from Toronto to Miami on Nov. 5 left Sheila badly injured and in severe pain for days.

Upon landing in Miami, staff transferred Sheila from her seat into an aisle chair — a narrow wheelchair to assist passengers off planes. But Rizzuto said staff appeared confused about how to properly operate the chair’s restraints. Once on the loading bridge, Rizzuto was talking to an Air Canada representative about locating Sheila’s personal wheelchair when she suddenly fell off the aisle chair onto the floor.

“They did not put the armrests down. They did not put the seatbelts on her,” said Rizzuto. “My first instinct was I grabbed her and lifted her to get her off the floor because she was screaming. She was in shock. I can just imagine how much pain she was in, lying there.”

As a result of the fall, Sheila Rizzuto suffered a cut on her leg, a sprained ankle, and bruising on her leg, arm, lower back, and hip, as well as severe pain in her ribs.

“We hung around the pool, but she was in so much pain that she wasn’t enjoying herself. She was in pain. She was depressed. She was crying a lot,” said Rizzuto. “This did not have to happen to her. And put her through more pain than she’s already in because of the state of the cancer.”

Rizzuto said an Air Canada representative apologized to them over the phone and offered them $500 in Air Canada flight credits. But he said after his initial conversation with the airline, his efforts to communicate with them went unanswered.

In a statement, Air Canada said, “While leaving the aircraft in Miami, the customer unfortunately sustained an injury from a fall while being transferred to her wheelchair. This matter is concerning and is now being reviewed by our claims department.”

“Our preliminary review of the event indicates that the customer’s spouse did not want our agent to touch his wife in the manner required to secure the belt. The use of this belt would have likely prevented the injury.”

Rizzuto said he was “shocked” at the statement from the airline, saying he never told staff not to assist Sheila.

Rizzuto also said problems began prior to departure from Toronto. Sheila was not offered an aisle chair and had to make her way to her seat in row 21 by herself. Rizzuto said because Sheila only became a wheelchair user in May, they didn’t know an aisle chair was an option.

“Our teams were assisting other customers, and by the time they arrived at the aircraft, the customer had boarded without using the aisle chair.”

The Rizzutos’ experience in Miami follows a string of high-profile incidents on Canadian airlines that resulted in passengers in wheelchairs being injured.

In November 2023, Air Canada’s CEO was summoned to Ottawa by the federal transport minister after the stories became public.

At the time, Air Canada said it would be fast-tracking a series of changes to make its airline more accessible, including improving training for airline staff. But a recent CBC Marketplace hidden camera investigation documented the airline falling short of multiple announced improvements.

Rizzuto said he and Sheila are not looking for financial compensation from the airline but hope their story can force change and prevent others from becoming injured.

“I’m not looking for anything from Air Canada other than rectifying their procedures, making things better, training their staff better, and hiring better companies that assist with people [getting] on and off the plane.”

Despite the setback of the Miami trip, the Rizzutos say they are hopeful they’ll be able to embark on one last trip together for the holidays.