While in general everything is done to ensure that passengers do not suffer injury or illness while travelling by airplane, inevitably this does carry some risks in the same way that any other form of travel would. While many people may immediately think of plane crashes and the resultant serious – possibly fatal – injuries that can result when it comes to flight accidents, the fact is that there are a number of far less serious but much more common injuries and illnesses that a passenger can potentially experience while travelling by plane. When it comes to accidents occurring during a flight and any resultant compensation claim, the terms of the Montreal convention are adhered to in determining liability and compensation.
The majority of the accidents and illnesses that people experience during a flight are relatively minor, rather than life threatening ones. Airplane crashes are a rare occurrence and becoming more so all the time, but there are a number of other – less serious, but nonetheless unpleasant – incidents that commonly occur during flights. One of the most frequent types of minor injury suffered by those travelling by plane is that of burns from spilt hot drinks. This type of injury can be the result of negligence on the part of the airline – if the drink was spilt due to failures in the equipment provided for keeping the drink steady, or if it was the result of a mistake by a member of the cabin crew. Alternatively, it could be the result of an error by the passenger or simply an unavoidable accident – say if the flight is affected by a bout of turbulence.
Another common type of flight accident is that of luggage falling from the overhead compartments it is kept in during the flight. This can lead to head or other bodily injuries, and can again be the fault of the airline if the accident is caused by the compartments being inadequate; by the passenger, if they failed to load the luggage into the compartments correctly; or again simply be an unavoidable result of turbulence. When it comes to making compensation claims for flight accident injuries however, it is not necessary to prove negligence on the part of the airline in order to have a case, making it advisable to seek legal advice from an aviation accident lawyer
.