Deep Vein Thrombosis - A House of Lords Ruling

Last month the House of Lords ruled that victims of Deep Vein Thrombosis are not allowed to sue airlines for the loss and damage they have suffered. The so-called ‘Economy Class Syndrome’ occurs when a lack of movement causes a blood clot which can often start in the leg and can be fatal if it progresses to the heart and/or lungs. Deep Vein Thrombosis is a serious condition which can lead to death. This figure must not be taken out of context however, it is reported that there is one case of DVT for every 6000 journeys which lasted 4 hours or more and it is still not known whether there is a definite link between air travel and DVT or whether the 1-3 people out of every 1000 who would develop DVT in any event would have developed DVT regardless of their mode of travel. No matter what the percentage of travellers who develop the condition, there was much cause for concern amongst airline carriers who would face huge payouts worldwide had the ruling been allowed.

The Court of Appeal had previously held that the incident which caused DVT was a non-event and that therefore this could not be classed as an accident under the 1929 Warsaw Convention governing air travel; the Warsaw convention provides that an airline carrier can only be responsible for an injury of if is caused by an accident.

This judgement neatly avoids the public policy issues in which claims, which it is feared will open the 'floodgates of litigation', are harnessed on the grounds that no duty of care exists because the proximity of the claimant and defendant is not close enough.

The claimants had argued that the failure by the airlines to warn them of the risks of DVT resulting from air travel constituted a breach of duty and therefore fell into the class of an accident under the Warsaw convention. However, the House of Lords disagreed and upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal.

Whilst John Smith of the Flight Related DVT Campaign stated ‘we believe they missed an opportunity to apply some common sense by bringing airlines in line with other passenger carriers’ it is arguably the Lords who have demonstrated the most sense in this case. Airline travel is hugely important to our society and business efficacy. The economic impact of huge claims being mounted against airlines would be detrimental to airlines, business and insurance premiums alike and this is a factor that the Lords are not likely to have missed.