David Dao, the 69-year-old Kentucky doctor dragged off a United Express flight on Sunday night, suffered a concussion and broken nose in the incident and lost two teeth, his attorney said Thursday.
Dao will need reconstructive surgery, lawyer Thomas Demetrio announced at a news conference in Chicago.
He said there will "probably" be a lawsuit over the airline's actions.
Dao's lawyers have already filed in Illinois state court to compel United to preserve evidence related to the incident, to ensure that videos and other recordings are not destroyed before a case could start.
The violence captured on bystander video was obviously unacceptable, showing "unreasonable" force, Demetrio said. He also issued scathing broadsides against United and other airlines in general — saying the larger issue is that airlines have "bullied" customers for a "long time." Among other things, Demetrio called for airlines to "stop the over-overbooking."