Air travel injury and illness

What is covered?

The carrier is liable for injury or death of a passenger, as long as the accident took place on board the aircraft or in the course of embarking or disembarking. This excludes purely psychiatric injuries. Also, the Convention provides a system of strict liability which means that a passenger only needs to prove that an accident occurred without it being necessary to prove that anyone was at fault.

 

Making a claim:

When attempting to establish that an accident has occurred, the passenger needs to prove that:

• The accident itself was unusual or unexpected (that it was outside the ordinary course of events);
• The accident was external to the passenger (meaning that it was not caused by their internal reaction, for example in the case of Deep Vein Thrombosis); and
• The accident took place upon the aircraft or during the process of embarking or disembarking.

 

Typical examples include:

• Overhead storage compartment door injuries and falling baggage;
• Slips and trips, either on or off the plane;
• Burns from the food service;
• Trolley accidents;
• Turbulence and rough landings;
• Injuries caused by other passengers on board the flight; and
• Allergic reactions to meals served on the flight.

 

The time limit to make a claim is two years and runs from the date of the actual or planned arrival at the destination or from the date on which the carriage was stopped, whichever is sooner. The claim will most likely be brought against the airline carrier.  

 

For personal injuries or death claims, the claimant can, at their choice and providing that all 3 are satisfied, you should file the claim in a country:

• That is a party to the Montreal Convention (the UK is);
• That is the claimant’s principal and permanent place of residence; and
• In which the carrier operates flights for passengers, either by its aircraft or on another carrier’s aircraft under a commercial agreement.

This makes it easier to bring the claim to the Courts of England and Wales, making the process simpler for you.

 

How we can help

Your caseworker would contact the airline to determine more details and file a claim, it is always best to act swiftly in such cases so that cabin crew can be interviewed while the matter is still fresh in their minds. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.