British court set for key ruling on airline blood clots LONDON (Reuters) =97 A British court is set to make a key ruling on Friday= in=20 a landmark case brought by blood clot victims against some of the world's=20 biggest airlines, that could force them to pay millions in damages. The=20 case pits victims of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially deadly=20 condition, against American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas Airways and=20 24 other top carriers. London High Court Judge Robert Nelson has to decide= =20 whether developing a blood clot because of the cramped conditions in=20 aircraft can be defined as an accident under the provisions of the Warsaw=20 Convention, a 1929 agreement that governs international air travel. Under=20 the treaty, airlines are liable for damages only in the case of an accident. If their bid to sue under the Warsaw Convention fails, the claimants argue= =20 they are entitled to pursue the suit under international human rights law. Victims and their families blame DVT, a condition that can cause clots=20 measuring up to a foot in length that can invade the lungs, heart and=20 brain, on cramped seats, low oxygen levels and long hours in the air. The=20 airlines maintain it is not a flying disease =97 and not an accident under= =20 the international agreement =97 therefore the airlines cannot be held=20 responsible. Losing the case would be a major blow to an industry reeling=20 from the global economic slowdown and a slump in ticket sales after the=20 September 11 attacks in the United States last year. Earlier on Friday, an= =20 Australian court gave the green light to a lawsuit there against Qantas and= =20 British Airways over a blood clot suffered by a passenger on a long-haul=20 flight. The Supreme Court in the state of Victoria rejected the airlines'=20 argument that blood clots suffered by passengers on long-haul flights could= =20 not be defined as an accident. The world's largest carrier, American=20 Airlines, last week reached an out-of-court settlement in a blood clot case. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************