Passengers lose DVT appeal
The Court of Appeal has refused to overturn a High Court ruling preventing 24 passengers from suing airlines for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) deaths, but the claimants plan to take their case to the House of Lords.
The court ruled that DVT – the so-called “economy class syndrome” – caused when blood clots form in the legs but may move to lungs or brain, was not an “accident” under the terms of the Warsaw Convention of 1929.
Upholding last December’s High Court ruling by Mr Justice Nelson, Master of the Rolls Lord Phillips said that an overview of the information before the court “discloses nothing capable of constituting an accident within the meaning of article 17” of the convention, according to the Guardian.
Sitting with Lord Justice Judge and Lord Justice Kay, he said that, for there to be an accident which could give rise to a claim, there had to be some “unexpected, unusual event or happening” occurring during a flight or when embarking or disembarking.
On behalf of the claimants, Desmond Collins, of Collins Solicitors, said “for the sake of the law, the victims and their families, we are determined to take this to the House of Lords”.
John Smith, the Labour MP who yesterday introduced an aviation health bill into the House of Commons, yesterday described the result as “disappointing”, and “a setback for the general safety of the flying public”, according to the Financial Times.
He urged parliament to “unite in bringing about justice, as well as a change in the law to guarantee corporate responsibility”.
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