While flying to Spain from Ireland, my young son’s hand was burned because his tea lid was not secure; can we claim compensation for being scalded by a hot drink on an airplane?
Given that your son’s hand was treated by a professional medical practitioner in a timely fashion, and the burn was recorded in your son’s medical history, he should be able to claim compensation for being scalded by hot drink on airplane. How the accident occurred is not, in fact, important, in such claims as this, as under the Montreal Convention, an airline accepts responsibility for their passengers’ safety in all situations under its terms of carriage and you do not have to prove negligence. The only circumstance where you may encounter difficulties with your son’s claim would be if the airline’s insurance company try to cajole you into accepting an offer of compensation from them which does not adequately represent your son’s injury.
The amount of compensation for being scalded by hot drink on airline your son should qualify for will be influenced by several elements which the airline company’s insurers may not always wholly consider. Your son will automatically be eligible for compensation for the pain and suffering he suffered at the time of the accident, which will be calculated by accounting for his age, sex and the likelihood that the burn may result in a visible scar. Along with that, if your son has experienced a temporary deterioration in his quality of like – or if he has incurred any medical expenses – these factors should also be regarded in the settlement of your son’s burn injury on airline compensation claim.
The Montreal Convention treaty states that a passenger can claim compensation for being scalded by hot drink on airplane from the country of their embarkation, rather than the country to which they were flying. The airline company’s insurers may attempt to persuade you into accepting a compensation settlement for your son’s injury based on generic compensation settlements in the country which suits them best, or they may even contest your son’s claim by accusing him of contributing to the extent of his injury or the cause of the accident through his own lack of care.
You and your son would, therefore, be well advised to consult with an experienced solicitor about the circumstances of your son’s injury to establish how much compensation for being scalded by hot drink on airplane he may be eligible for and the best way to pursue the claim. It may not be necessary to make an application for assessment to the Injuries Board Ireland if a swift and satisfactory settlement of your claim can be negotiated, or if your claim is being pursued outside of the Republic of Ireland. However, your solicitor will only be able to advise you once your son’s claim has been assessed.