HOUSTON – Almost two years ago, a pair of United Airlines employees allegedly laughed at, cursed at and even physically injured an area attorney when he asked for a new boarding pass, according to a recently filed lawsuit. 
 
 Seeking more than $1 million in damages, Ronald Tigner filed suit against United on June 7 in Harris County. Alejandro Anastasia and Ianthe Phillips-Allred are also named as defendants. 
 
 According to the lawsuit, on July 21, 2015, Tigner was attempting to catch a flight out of Bush Intercontinental Airport. He allegedly received a boarding pass that was “illegible” that United refused to reprint. 
 
 TSA then refused to allow him to pass through the security checkpoint “because of the illegible pass,” obliging him to proceed back to the United ticketing area. 
 
 “Defendants Anastasia and Allred, among other things, refused to offer assistance to plaintiff, laughed at plaintiff, cursed at plaintiff … and Anastasia suddenly, unexpectedly and violently injured plaintiff,” the suit states, adding that United and its employees violated the company’s core value: “We Fly Right.” 
 
 The suit does not state what provoked the employee to allegedly injure Tigner, and only contends that nothing Tigner did caused or contributed to the incident. 
 
 United is accused of negligently failing to assist Tigner and properly hire and train its employees. 
 
 Tigner is demanding all evidence related to the incident be preserved. 
 
 He is suing for his past and future mental anguish, medical expenses, pain, lost wages, impairment and disfigurement. 
 
 Katy attorney William Hoke represents him. 
 
 Harris County District Court Cause No. 2017-37998 ||||| A 71-year-old man is suing United Airlines for $1 million after he was pushed to the ground by an employee in 2015. The employee was charged with a felony of injuring an elderly individual. (KPRC) 
 
 United Airlines issued an apology Tuesday after a video was released of a Houston-based employee pushing a 71-year-old passenger to the floor during an argument over a ticket. The man was left lying there motionless. 
 
 The confrontation took place about two years ago but was detailed in a lawsuit filed last week in Harris County, Tex. The airline is still facing fallout over an incident with David Dao, a passenger who was violently dragged off a flight in Chicago in April. 
 
 The video of the Texas pushing incident was obtained and broadcast Tuesday evening by Houston news station KPRC. 
 
 The passenger, Ronald Tigner, a Houston lawyer, is suing United and two of its employees for more than $1 million, alleging negligence in the incident that took place July 21, 2015, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. 
 
 In response to the video, United released a statement to KPRC saying it is “disturbed by the completely unacceptable behavior shown in a video of a customer and a former United employee.” The employee is no longer with the company, according to the statement. 
 
 “The actions shown here do not reflect our core values or our commitment to treat all of our customers with respect and dignity,” United’s statement read. “We are reviewing all circumstances surrounding this incident and reaching out to our customer through his attorney to profusely apologize for what occurred and to make this right.” 
 
 The encounter began when Tigner received a boarding pass that was illegible. He made “numerous attempts” to ask for a reprinted pass, but United agents denied him one, according to the lawsuit. 
 
 He was told to continue on to the security checkpoint, where Transportation Security Administration authorities refused to let Tigner enter because of his poorly printed pass. 
 
 So Tigner went back to the United ticketing area and tried once more to get a new ticket, the lawsuit states. Two United employees, Alejandro Anastasia and Ianthe Phillips-Allred, allegedly refused to help Tigner, laughing and cursing at him, the lawsuit states. 
 
 Tigner’s attorney, William Hoke, told KPRC that when Tigner asked Anastasia for a new ticket, he replied with a smile, saying, “Can’t you see I’m busy?” 
 
 Tigner then told Anastasia to “wipe that smile off your face,” Hoke said, to which Anastasia responded with an obscenity. 
 
 Then, Anastasia “suddenly, unexpectedly and violently injured” Tigner, the lawsuit alleges. 
 
 Surveillance video shows the United employee checking his watch, turning toward Tigner and pushing him to the floor. Tigner remains there motionless on his back, his legs and arms spread out. Meanwhile, a couple of people who appear to be airline employees stand near Tigner. 
 
 But for about 50 seconds, no one appears to bend down to help Tigner, until a woman — identified by Tigner’s lawyer as a flight passenger and nurse — walks over to check on him. 
 
 [United CEO tells Congress dragging man from flight was a ‘horrible failure’ by airline] 
 
 A United employee later called 911, telling the operator, “There’s a 70 year old male that had fallen down,” according to a 911 call published by KPRC. When the operator asked the employee what caused the fall and if the man was awake, the caller said he did not know. 
 
 Anastasia was later charged with a felony of injuring an elderly individual, KPRC reported. He was fined and ordered to attend anger-management classes and apologize to Tigner. 
 
 The lawsuit alleges the confrontation caused Tigner to sustain “severe personal injuries and damages,” and incur medical expenses and lost wages. It says the altercation left him with “physical disfigurement” and caused him to experience “mental anguish.” 
 
 It also says that nothing Tigner did or failed to do “caused or contributed to the incident.” 
 
 The lawsuit follows a number of high-profile controversies involving United, and the airline industry as a whole. In April, Dao refused to give up his seat on an overbooked United flight and was dragged off bloodied and limp, to the disgust of other passengers who captured it on video. Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose and two missing teeth, among other injuries, The Washington Post reported. 
 
 Since then, other airlines have come under fire for kicking a family off a flight due to a dispute over a birthday cake and booting a passenger from a plane for using a restroom. 
 
 One of the most recent confrontations also involved Houston-based United Airlines agents, who told Yennifer Correia she would have to check her 17th-century violin. 
 
 A “wrestling match” ensued, The Post reported, leaving Correia with an injured hand. 
 
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 Arrest of Miss Black Texas not racially motivated, outside investigation finds ||||| HOUSTON - For decades, United Airlines has boasted "come fly the friendly skies of United," but in April, video of Dr. David Dao being dragged off a United flight in Chicago went viral. 
 
 When Dao refused to give up his seat onboard an overbooked flight, security officers began dragging him down the aisle and off the plane in front of horrified passengers. 
 
 Now, Channel 2 Investigates has obtained video of another physical confrontation between United employees and a 71-year-old Houston man at Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2015. That man has filed a lawsuit. 
 
 VIDEO: Full airport surveillance video of United worker pushing Houston passenger to ground 
 
 "This is just one of the most inhumane things I've ever seen in my life," attorney William Hoke said. 
 
 In the video, recorded on a surveillance camera at the airport, Ronald Tigner -- a frequent flyer, father and grandfather -- is shown being pushed to the ground by a United Airlines customer service rep, right in front of the United ticket counter. 
 
 After hitting his head on the ground, Tigner lies motionless with his arms splayed out and yet not one United employee bothers to bend down and talk to him. 
 
 "He violently shoves a 71-year-old man to the ground," Hoke said. 
 
 "Was your client knocked unconscious? Was he out?" KPRC 2's Bill Spencer asked. 
 
 "He was. He lied there," Hoke said. "He lies there lifeless for minutes. Not one employee comes to check on him." 
 
 "None of the United employees even bend down to see if he's OK, to see it he's alive?" Spencer asked. 
 
 VIDEO: United apologizes to passenger 
 
 "No one even went to check his pulse," Hoke said. "They literally left him there like a piece of garbage." 
 
 In fact, over the course of the nearly three-minute surveillance video, not one United employee ever appears to try to comfort the man in any way. 
 
 Fifty seconds into the video, a passenger walking by stops to help, as United employees just watch. 
 
 "It was a good Samaritan, who was a nurse, that was catching a flight, ran over and said, 'Please, God. Someone call 911,'" Hoke said. 
 
 When a United worker does call 911, he doesn't say the man was pushed down, or that's he's unconscious. 
 
 911: "What is the emergency?" 
 
 Worker: "There's a 70-year-old male that had fallen down." 
 
 911: "OK, is he awake?" 
 
 Worker: "I don't know." 
 
 911: "You know what the cause of the fall?" 
 
 Worker: "No." 
 
 LISTEN: 911 Call after United employee pushes customer 
 
 "It's astonishing," Hoke said. "It's outrageous." 
 
 Now Tigner is suing United Airlines, Alejandro Anastasia -- the man who pushed him -- and another United employee for negligence. 
 
 Hoke claims this all began with Tigner simply asking Anastasia for a new boarding pass because the one he had was garbled. The suit claims Anastasia laughed at him and cursed at him. 
 
 "Anastasia was looking at Mr. Tigner and started smiling and said, 'Can't you see we're busy?' and there's no one in the vicinity of these two employees," Hoke said. "And he tells Anastasia to wipe that smile off his face. That's when Anastasia says, 'I'll kick your (expletives)' and shoves Tigner to the ground." 
 
 Anastasia was later charged with the felony crime of injury to an elderly individual, ordered to pay a fine, write a letter of apology and attend anger-management classes. 
 
 He was fired after the incident, according to United. 
 
 Alejandro Nestor Anstasia 
 
 Channel 2 Investigates went to Anastasia's home, but no one answered the door. 
 
 "Mr. Anastasia, what would possess you to throw a 71-year-old man to the floor?" Spencer had asked. 
 
 Tigner is suing United Airlines for more than $1 million. 
 
 "We want people to come forward who've been treated just like Mr. Tigner and like Dr. Dao, any of the other people who've flown United and been treated this way, because this has to stop," Hoke said. 
 
 United Airlines called Tigner's lawyer to offer an apology on Wednesday. 
 
 "(They said) they're truly sorry this happened to Mr. Tigner and they wanted me to convey that to him," Hoke said. 
 
 United released the following statement: 
 
 "We have seen the video from 2015 that shows completely unacceptable behavior by a United employee. This employee is no longer with our company. The conduct shown here does not reflect our values or our commitment to treat all of our customers with respect and dignity. We are taking a thorough look into what happened here and reaching out to our customer to profusely apologize for what occurred and to make this right." 
 
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– A 71-year-old lawyer is suing United Airlines for more than $1 million after an employee knocked him down during an argument two years ago, the Southeast Texas Record reports. According to the Washington Post, the July 21, 2015, incident started when the TSA at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport wouldn't let Ronald Tigner through due to an illegible boarding pass. According to the lawsuit Tigner filed June 7, he returned to the ticketing area. He says two United employees—Alejandro Anastasia and Ianthe Phillips-Allred—refused to help him there, instead laughing and cursing at him. Tigner's attorney, William Hoke, tells KPRC that when Tigner told Anastasia to "wipe that smile off his face," Anastasia threatened violence. Hoke says surveillance video of what happened next is "one of the most inhumane things I've ever seen." Video shows Anastasia shove Tigner to the ground, where he lies motionless and splayed out for minutes. Hoke says Tigner hit his head on the ground and was knocked unconscious and that United employees stood around looking at Tigner until a passerby finally stopped to help him. "They literally left him there like a piece of garbage," Hoke says. Tigner is suing United, Anastasia, and Phillips-Allred for negligence. The lawsuit claims he was left with "physical disfigurement" and "mental anguish." United says Anastasia's behavior was "unacceptable" and "does not reflect our values." Anastasia was charged with felony injury to an elderly individual and punished with a fine and anger-management classes. He no longer works for United. (United's new flight is a doozy.)