Local Woman Suffers Second Degree Burns

Published: 25th May 2017

On the 30 October 2012 a local woman was traveling to Alicante by airplane for her fiftieth wedding anniversary. A steward placed a cup of coffee on the fold down tray in front of her. She thinks there must have been some turbulence or the passenger in front moved in his chair, either way the coffee slid off the tray into her lap.

As is always the case nowadays the coffee was superheated and it burnt her badly, giving her second degree burns. She approached Liddy’s Solicitors to claim damages on her behalf.

The airline tried to argue that she must have knocked it herself; neither side had any proof as to what really happened. By agreement the airline accepted two thirds of the responsibility for the accident, adding in damages for loss of enjoyment of their holiday, travel and medical fees. The damages claim settled at £13,500 which was reduced by one third to £9,000 for her contribution to the incident happening.

When accidents happen on airlines, very often the Montréal Convention applies. This essentially means that there is no need to prove negligence, we simply have to prove that an accident occurred and that it wasn’t the fault of the person injured. There are other conditions in the Montreal Convention, such as the Court proceedings have to have been issued within two years of the accident.

Though we often publicize our larger money settlement cases, Liddy’s handles cases of all sizes. We do genuinely believe that where a person has been injured due to negligence then they are entitled to some form of compensation, whatever the amount. Sometimes even the recognition of neglect is enough for claimants.

You can contact Liddy’s to discuss personal injury or clinical negligence claims by calling 01924 780 753.