-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 They ruled that the relatives could not sue the airlines as DVT is not considered to be accident in the courts opinion. Apparenly an Austrailan court reached the opposite verdict today. Relatives could sue an airline in the event of a DVT death. Interesting. David On Friday 20 Dec 2002 4:26 pm, Roger James wrote: > 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 > ********************************************************* -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+A3W3KsvwCXwmAPgRAvxuAJ9KKSJohZD7jkYlwCPtvTEsbUggywCgjTDx xysSd4g/vkjB8vji5KUwyZY= =/iXw -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----