Gerona plane crash passengers claim for psychological injury
70 passengers on the Britannia Airways flight which crash-landed in Spain in a heavy thunderstorm in 1999 were given permission from a judge in 2003 to claim against Thomson Holidays for the traumatic crash.
Passengers in 1999 crash win right to sue
The Boeing 757 flight from Cardiff airport was carrying 236 passengers when it was forced to land, hitting the ground twice before skidding into a field and breaking into three. Passengers on the flights report they still suffer from nightmares and flashbacks.
Despite some passengers receiving compensation for physical injuries sustained, a group of 70 passengers had to fight for their right to claim compensation for psychological injuries following the crash.
A “grossly outdated” law
The controversial decision hinged on the fact that Thomson had not made clear the extent of its liability for psychiatric injuries in its terms and conditions. However, Judge Graham Jones also ruled that passengers could not pursue Britannia Airways for compensation under the protection of the 1929 Warsaw Convention on air travel, which states that airlines cannot be held responsible to psychological injury in addition to physical harm.
The Warsaw Convention was described as “grossly outdated” by the group’s solicitor, who welcomed the verdict as a precedent for tour companies not to “hide behind” the Warsaw Convention, but to state clearly in their business terms that they do not accept responsibility for psychological injury (BBC News, 2003).
A spokesperson for Thomson Holidays said they were “confident that it will be established that the actions of the Britannia crew demonstrated nothing other than the highest level of professionalism in difficult circumstances and that they were in no way negligent towards their passengers,”