US judge allows 3 lawsuits over DVT to proceed

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US judge allows 3 lawsuits over DVT to proceed

Passengers claim cramped seating on SIA, US Airways and Delta gave them blood clots SAN FRANCISCO - A JUDGE in the United States has ruled that three airline passengers who say cramped seating gave them blood clots can continue their lawsuits against the international carriers on which they flew - one of which is Singapore Airlines. US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker had previously tossed out 37 similar lawsuits, citing an international treaty protecting airlines from having to pay damages for injuries passengers suffer during routine travel.
But Judge Walker said the three remaining lawsuits claiming deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, could proceed because they allege injuries that could have been prevented if the airlines - SIA, US Airways and Delta - had let passengers complaining of pain switch to open seats with more leg room.
DVT is a relatively common and potentially fatal blood clot caused by prolonged immobility.
Lawyers believe airlines are taking insufficient precautions to prevent DVT, according to legal website law.com, which reported on Judge Walker's decision.
In the SIA case, a passenger named Ms Marsha Dabulis developed a clot which required surgery, said law.com.
After she asked for a transfer from her seat, which had a metal bar obstructing her foot room, SIA flight attendants offered only a seat that did not recline, according to law.com.
'The idea that SIA somehow discharged its duty by offering Dabulis a seat that was even more restrictive than her original seat is hardly beyond dispute,' the judge wrote.
SIA declined to comment yesterday.
'As a matter of policy, we do not comment on matters which are before the courts,' said a spokesman.
The second case allowed to proceed by the judge involved a passenger who developed a clot after being confined to his seat during a two-hour delay without flight attendants offering water or any time to get up and stretch.
Judge Walker wrote that dismissing the case 'would give airlines carte blanche to force passengers to remain seated without reason'.
He also refused to dismiss a case in which a woman died after collapsing on a flight, saying that a jury should decide whether the airline acted quickly enough to allow medical professionals onto the plane.
Judge Walker's ruling had the lawyers for the plaintiffs cheering.
'It is a wonderful victory for us,' said Ms Brenda Posada, a California lawyer representing Ms Dabulis.
The Warsaw Convention governing international air travel says airlines are liable for passenger injury only if it is due to an accident, rather than in the normal course of travel.
The US Supreme Court, Judge Walker wrote, defines an accident for the purposes of the Warsaw Convention as 'an unexpected or unusual event or happening that is external to the passenger'.
Therefore, he said, while the simple development of a DVT clot is not an accident, a DVT clot which develops after a passenger complains of pain from a cramped seat and is denied the opportunity to move to a less-cramped space is, said law.com.
An appeals court has ordered Judge Walker to separately reconsider whether the airlines are providing enough seating space or would raise fares if forced to remove seats to make cabins roomier.
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