Pilot Files Lawsuit Against United Airlines Over Forced Rehab and Firing

Veteran captain alleges he was wrongly diagnosed with alcohol dependence.

Ryan Ewing

Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

United Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft [Credit: AirlineGeeks/William Derrickson]

Key Takeaways:

A former United Airlines captain, Michael Tallon, has filed a federal lawsuit against United, ALPA, and an Aviation Medical Examiner, alleging wrongful termination and medical mismanagement.
Tallon claims he suffered a head injury but was improperly forced into United's Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS) substance abuse program, despite never being formally diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of discrimination, retaliation, and fraud, asserting violations of the ADA and other acts, and that the HIMS program was used punitively.
Tallon, who was terminated in early 2025 after remaining in the HIMS program, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and wants the court to order changes to United's HIMS program.

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A former United Airlines captain has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging wrongful termination and medical mismanagement following a workplace head injury.

In a 22-page complaint filed on July 3, Michael Tallon accuses United, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and Aviation Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Noven of discrimination, retaliation, and fraud. Tallon claims the defendants wrongly forced him into a substance abuse program after he suffered a head injury while on a layover in the Azores in June 2023.