The widow of a passenger on United Flight 175 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the airline. The suit, filed by Ellen Mariani, alleges that United Airlines "breached its duty to care for the passengers" and was responsible for her husband's "severe fright and terror" before his death. The United airliner was one of two commercial jets that crashed into the World Trade Center, killing an estimated 3,000 people.

Mariani opted to file a civil lawsuit rather than seek compensation from the Federal government's multibillion-dollar Sept. 11 Victims Compensation Fund. Survivors who choose legal action forfeit their right to payments from the government fund.