In terms of dealing with such a claim, it will be useful to consider any contractual terms and conditions which should have been issued to you at the time of booking the flight/holiday or excursion. Bookings are often made through a tour operator. Most personal injury claims run to a 3 year time limit within England / Wales jurisdiction. This means that court proceedings must be issued within 3 years of the date of the accident; otherwise you will lose your right to claim compensation. However under the Montreal Convention the time limit for bringing a claim is commonly 2 years from the date of the accident. It is said that the benefit of the convention is that it is not necessary to establish fault for the accident in order to succeed with the claim. This is known as strict liability. It is merely necessary to show that a plane accident occurred and that the passenger was injured as a result.
Since 1929 the regulations covering passenger compensation for aeroplane accidents on international flights were set out in the Warsaw Convention. Parts of the Warsaw Convention have become obsolete and this has now been superseded by the Montreal Convention. The Montreal Convention was incorporated into UK law by virtue of the Carriage by Air Acts (Implementation of the Montreal Convention 1999) Order 2002.
Over the years there has been some dispute regarding what actually constitutes an accident on an aircraft. In the case of Air France v Saks [1985] an accident on an aircraft was determined to be “an unusual or unexpected event or happening external to the passenger” and “not where the injury results from the passenger’s own internal reaction to the usual, normal and expected operation of the aircraft”. This can exclude claiming for injuries such as deep vein thrombosis, hysteria or hearing loss due to normal pressure changes.
So, we would note that you are entitled to claim for aeroplane accidents where you have sustained injury due to unexpected turbulence or motion of the aircraft, falling luggage, burns and scalds from hot drinks, aircraft crashes and collisions, slips, trips and falls.
Even if a fellow passenger caused the accident or if no one is to blame for the accident, the airline company may still be deemed responsible and may have to pay compensation to an injured victim. So as long as the accident was not the fault of the person making the claim (i.e. you), then the claim may well be successful. Under the Montreal Convention strict liability claims (a claim where fault is not necessary or does not have to be proved) are limited to the Claimant recovering a maximum figure of £100,000. However a claim could be made over and above this figure but negligence must then be proved against the airline company.
Your Solicitor would look to obtain as much information as possible, in order to consider the best avenue of bringing a claim. There are alternatives to bringing a claim under the Montreal Convention. If the flight in which injury occurred was part of a package holiday then it may be possible to take legal action for damages for personal injury using UK domestic law – for breach of contract or for negligence or for breaching the provisions of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 1992.
With this type of complex claim it is essential that we obtain as much information as possible at the outset. Your Solicitor can then consider the options in moving forward with the claim. There are various routes to take in bringing a compensation claim. If you have sustained injury whilst travelling by air then you may be able to make a claim. Do not hesitate to contact The Injury lawyers today.