Sintons secured compensation for a passenger who sustained knee and wrist injuries after slipping on a wet cabin floor on a delayed aircraft.
During embarkation of a scheduled flight from Brussels to Manchester, the Claimant (a business class passenger) slipped on a wet floor of the galley door while turning into the main cabin and fell, sustaining injury.
David Knipe is a Senior Associate in the Personal Injury team at Sintons. He outlines the incident: “Boarding had been delayed by about an hour, any cleaning undertaken appeared hurried, and we would later establish that there was rain around embarkation. Whilst Cabin crew assisted immediately there was a factual disagreement around the cause of the fall and actions taken thereafter. The Claimant sustained injury namely a left wrist ligamentous injury with permanent residual nuisance pain, and a right knee pre patella haematoma that largely resolved.”
David adds, “The Claimant said that the floor was wet and that a senior crew member was later observed drying the floor with paper towels. However, an on-board accident report completed without the Claimant’s input recorded that the ‘floor wasn’t wet’ which we argued, erroneously recorded both the circumstances and time of the accident.”
David’s expertise with claims under the Montreal Convention was key in securing compensation in this case. The Convention deals specifically with incidents that occur during international carriage by air and, to succeed Claimants must prove in harmony with Article 17 of the Convention that:
– there was an “accident”
– the accident caused bodily injury; and
– it occurred on board the aircraft or in the course of embarking or disembarking.
UK Courts expect medical evidence to establish the injury, its mechanism, and prognosis. David explains how he acted accordingly: “I obtained supportive expert medico-legal evidence commenting on the Claimant’s injuries, causation and providing an opinion and prognosis. I instructed an Orthopaedic Lower Limb expert and liaised with them as we worked towards a potential trial.”
Applying the facts
A barrister was instructed to present the case at trial, Court proceedings were issued and served, and the Court gave directions however amicable settlement was achieved before trial.
David explains, “The success of this matter lay in our understanding and interpretation of the law and how it applied to the facts of the case. The Claim was defended robustly and settled only two months prior to trial. Significant costs were incurred in circumstances where the case could have been concluded more economically. Had the Defendant taken a pragmatic approach, as encouraged throughout, mitigated their risk, and not been so bullish, the claim could have been resolved so much earlier, without litigation, resulting in significant costs savings.”
The Claimant had this to say: “This is the second time I’ve been represented by David Knipe and Sintons for my travel injury claims. David is one of the best lawyers I’ve encountered. He explains everything thoroughly, takes time to ensure all legal aspects are covered and gives realistic expectations. If you are looking for one of the best personal injury lawyers, then, in my opinion, you’ll not find better than David Knipe!”
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