In a complaint filed on Feb. 18, Kerri Thomas claims she felt “shock and immediate pain” while walking through the scanner at the Atlanta airport in May 2024
NEED TO KNOW
- A Georgia woman alleges TSA agents ignored her request for a pat-down due to her spinal cord implant
- She claims the metal detector caused pain and destroyed her device, requiring medical treatment and surgery
- A lawsuit filed in Georgia accuses TSA of violating its own policies and seeks unspecified damages through a jury trial
A Georgia woman has filed a lawsuit claiming she experienced “shock and immediate pain” after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees “forced” her to walk through a metal detector.
On Feb. 18, Kerri Thomas filed a civil complaint against the United States in connection with an May 2024 incident that she says took place at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and involved TSA employees. In the complaint, Thomas alleges that agents “ignored” her pleas to be screened via pat-down due to her spinal cord stimulator implant.
The complaint claims that Thomas arrived at the North Security checkpoint at the airport around 5 a.m. local time on May 21, 2024. Upon arrival, Thomas alleges she informed the agents of her device and presented a medical identification card. However, she alleges that the employees ignored her request and card.
“[Thomas] repeatedly asked one or more [TSA] employees or agents to be taken to a private room to be patted down rather than be forced to go through the metal detector,” the complaint says. Instead, she claims, “the [TSA] employee or agent stated, ‘the only way you are getting on the plane is to go through the machine.’ ”…