13 May 2003

KEEBLE HAWSON

www.keeblehawson.co.uk

E-MAIL UPDATE

Personal Injury - Holidays

Passengers who have suffered psychological distress as a result of troubled flights are able to sue their Tour Operator. This was a reserved ruling following the claim of 70 passengers of a Gerona bound flight who sued Thomsons Holidays when their plane was forced to make an emergency landing due to bad weather conditions. This resulted in the plane been torn into several pieces across the Spanish runway.

Thomsons argued that they were protected by the Warsaw Convention, which limits compensation for physical injury to £85,000. The Judge ruled against this, stating that the firm's conditions of business did not clearly set out their limit for liability for injuries sustained whilst on holiday, in particular there was no exclusion for liability for psychiatric injuries.

It is uncertain whether this ruling will open the flood gates to other such claims, such as psychiatric injury caused by in-flight turbulence or whether it was the severity of the landing together with the Thomsons conditions of business which resulted in this ruling in favour of the passengers.

Such a ruling may force tour operators to look closely at their conditions of business.
We act for clients in all areas of personal injury, including claims for psychiatric injury, work related accidents and road traffic accidents.

We will keep you updated on personal injury law in future e-mails
www.keeblehawson.co.uk

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