A Malaysia Airlines (MAS) passenger is suing the national airline in an Australian court, claiming A$250,000 (RM752,000) in damages for allegedly refusing to provide her with a wheelchair, causing her to suffer a fall in which she sustained bone fractures.
The incident took place on April 4 this year, 72-year-old Vineetha Latha Warnakulasuriya claimed, when she arrived in Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur, aboard Flight MH179, and asked the flight attendant for a wheelchair.
However, Vineetha was told that the wheelchair could not be brought into the aircraft, and she would have to exit to where a wheelchair would be brought.
“Following this refusal, the plaintiff (Vineetha) had no choice but to comply with the directive of the flight attendant and she attempted to get out of her seat to walk, whereupon her right knee immediately gave way and her right leg collapsed causing her to fall to the floor, resulting in the injuries,” Vineetha’s statement of claim states.
The statement of claim was lodged in the Brisbane District Court yesterday. Vineetha holds dual citizenship - in Sri Lanka and in Australia.
She claimed to have suffered fractures on her right tibia (shinbone) and ligament damage to her right kneecap as a result of the fall.
According to the document, Vineetha had suffered another fall earlier that day, at Melbourne Airport, and injured her right knee, after which MAS staff offered her wheelchair assistance all the way through to her final destination in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The staff is believed to be an assistant general manager of MAS at Melbourne Airport, but whose name is unknown, the statement says.
‘Fit to travel, but wheelchair required’
Paramedics who examined Vineetha determined that she was still fit to travel if she felt well enough, but she would require the wheelchair from the airline. After this, she decided to accept the airline’s offer.
She was also promised by MAS staff in Melbourne that phone calls would be made for the necessary arrangements to be made for her.
As promised, airline staff provided her the wheelchair to reach the aircraft, and then manually assisted her to get from the aircraft door and back during her flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur, where she was to catch the connecting flight to Colombo.
Staff at Kuala Lumpur had rendered assistance as well, but there was allegedly no wheelchair or manual assistance when she arrived in Colombo, even after almost all other passengers had disembarked.
“As the wheelchair did not arrive, after some time the plaintiff asked the nearest flight attendant, whose name is at present not known, for a wheelchair to disembark.
“The flight attendant refused and, in breach of the offer made by the defendant’s (MAS) assistant general manager, said words to the effect that a wheelchair could not be brought on board the aircraft, and that the plaintiff would have to walk off the aircraft since she had walked on, and that a wheelchair would be at the exit,” says the statement of claim.
‘MAS has denied responsibility’
Malaysiakini has contacted MAS for a response to the claims, and is waiting for a reply.
Vineetha’s lawyer Joseph Wheeler said MAS has denied liability, which was why the lawsuit was filed.
“We will be arguing the MAS flight attendant’s refusal was part of the ‘accident’ as that term is understood under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention.
“The argument about the flight attendant’s conduct and refusal of a wheelchair in relation to international air transport has not been agitated in Australia, or elsewhere, to the level of a final court verdict conclusion (to our knowledge),” Wheeler told Malaysiakini.
However, he said, there was a precedent set in the US Supreme Court in 2004, in which Olympic Airways was successfully sued after a flight attendant’s refusal to assist a passenger resulted in the passenger’s death from asthma.
“Our client’s case will have implications for anyone who needs a wheelchair on an international flight, almost anywhere in the world, as all countries’ courts are required to keep decisions under the Warsaw and Montreal conventions as harmonious as possible,” Wheeler added.
The Montreal Convention is an international treaty that deals with compensation in relation to international air travel, whether it is a lost baggage or loss of life. Most countries, including Malaysia and Australia, are signatories to this convention.
Most other countries, including Sri Lanka, are subject to the provisions of the older Warsaw Convention, which also deals with compensation issues in international air travel.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266017
The incident took place on April 4 this year, 72-year-old Vineetha Latha Warnakulasuriya claimed, when she arrived in Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur, aboard Flight MH179, and asked the flight attendant for a wheelchair.However, Vineetha was told that the wheelchair could not be brought into the aircraft, and she would have to exit to where a wheelchair would be brought.
“Following this refusal, the plaintiff (Vineetha) had no choice but to comply with the directive of the flight attendant and she attempted to get out of her seat to walk, whereupon her right knee immediately gave way and her right leg collapsed causing her to fall to the floor, resulting in the injuries,” Vineetha’s statement of claim states.
The statement of claim was lodged in the Brisbane District Court yesterday. Vineetha holds dual citizenship - in Sri Lanka and in Australia.
She claimed to have suffered fractures on her right tibia (shinbone) and ligament damage to her right kneecap as a result of the fall.
According to the document, Vineetha had suffered another fall earlier that day, at Melbourne Airport, and injured her right knee, after which MAS staff offered her wheelchair assistance all the way through to her final destination in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The staff is believed to be an assistant general manager of MAS at Melbourne Airport, but whose name is unknown, the statement says.
‘Fit to travel, but wheelchair required’
Paramedics who examined Vineetha determined that she was still fit to travel if she felt well enough, but she would require the wheelchair from the airline. After this, she decided to accept the airline’s offer.
She was also promised by MAS staff in Melbourne that phone calls would be made for the necessary arrangements to be made for her.
As promised, airline staff provided her the wheelchair to reach the aircraft, and then manually assisted her to get from the aircraft door and back during her flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur, where she was to catch the connecting flight to Colombo.
Staff at Kuala Lumpur had rendered assistance as well, but there was allegedly no wheelchair or manual assistance when she arrived in Colombo, even after almost all other passengers had disembarked.
“As the wheelchair did not arrive, after some time the plaintiff asked the nearest flight attendant, whose name is at present not known, for a wheelchair to disembark.
“The flight attendant refused and, in breach of the offer made by the defendant’s (MAS) assistant general manager, said words to the effect that a wheelchair could not be brought on board the aircraft, and that the plaintiff would have to walk off the aircraft since she had walked on, and that a wheelchair would be at the exit,” says the statement of claim.
‘MAS has denied responsibility’
Malaysiakini has contacted MAS for a response to the claims, and is waiting for a reply.
Vineetha’s lawyer Joseph Wheeler said MAS has denied liability, which was why the lawsuit was filed.
“We will be arguing the MAS flight attendant’s refusal was part of the ‘accident’ as that term is understood under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention.
“The argument about the flight attendant’s conduct and refusal of a wheelchair in relation to international air transport has not been agitated in Australia, or elsewhere, to the level of a final court verdict conclusion (to our knowledge),” Wheeler told Malaysiakini.
However, he said, there was a precedent set in the US Supreme Court in 2004, in which Olympic Airways was successfully sued after a flight attendant’s refusal to assist a passenger resulted in the passenger’s death from asthma.
“Our client’s case will have implications for anyone who needs a wheelchair on an international flight, almost anywhere in the world, as all countries’ courts are required to keep decisions under the Warsaw and Montreal conventions as harmonious as possible,” Wheeler added.
The Montreal Convention is an international treaty that deals with compensation in relation to international air travel, whether it is a lost baggage or loss of life. Most countries, including Malaysia and Australia, are signatories to this convention.
Most other countries, including Sri Lanka, are subject to the provisions of the older Warsaw Convention, which also deals with compensation issues in international air travel.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266017
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