A Washington state woman is on the hunt for a lawyer to go after the Transportation Security Administration, after screeners at the Pasco, Washington airport made her remove a foot brace she was wearing for a sprained ankle.
Screeners at the airport not only made her remove the brace -- apparently against regulations -- but then made her balance on one foot, then the other. The woman, Lona Dunlap, had a sprained left ankle and had been told to keep off it. It seems that the screener asked her, essentially, to prove it, which is why Dunlap was forced to do the one leg shuffle. Visiting two doctors after the incident, Dunlap claims her ankle now has two fractures."
The woman claimed that the screener said she was made to lift each foot up individually, placing all of her weight on each foot, including the injured one. "It was incredibly painful."
The TSA Web site lists screening regulations, the article says, and reportedly does not require removal of leg or foot braces Screeners are supposed to swab the brace and submit those swabs to the machine that can then detect any explosive materials.
As might be expected, a TSA spokesman has said that the agency is "seriously" looking into the matter. I'll bet they are!
You see a lot when you travel. I recently commented on the young men I always see in the DFW airport who travel wearing scrubs. Yuck. I've since heard from several of you, confirming this in your own travels. Real doctors don't wear scrubs outside of work.
Last week during my travels, I watched some TSA agents (even before hearing about this story) because their actions were so hilarious. It was a big social event. Not much screening going on but a lot of camaraderie. Hey, I'm all for getting along with coworkers but what about protecting the public? What happened to that??
