Deep vein thrombosis

Re Deep Vein Thrombosis and Air Travel Group Litigation ([2003] 1 All ER 935 QBD)

This was a group action brought against 27 airlines by 55 passengers who had suffered deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while travelling by air. The claim was dismissed on the grounds that there was no ‘accident’ causing the injury as required by article 17 of the Warsaw Convention 1929, which makes air carriers liable to passengers who suffer bodily injury or death as a result of an accident on board an aircraft, or in the course of embarking or disembarking. A culpable act or omission itself, which did not amount to an unusual or unexpected event, did not come within the definition of an accident.