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Ex Kirkby man leads DVT payout fight - 29/08/02
Mansfield today website
A FORMER Kirkby man could be about to make legal history as part of a group of
air travellers demanding a multi-million pound payout for DVT
victims.
John Price, now of Bottesford, is one of 31 claimants seeking damages from several major airlines in the landmark case which aims to prove a link between Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and air travel.
Mr Price has been urging the Government and aviation industry to give clearer warnings to passengers about the risks of flying after his wife Ann died of DVT following a long haul flight from Miami.
And news that a High Court hearing on the case gets underway on 4th November is a welcome development for him and thousands of other victims and their families including another man from Kirkby who claims he developed DVT after a long haul flight to Johannesburg.
The hearing to decide whether airlines should pay out to victims could open the floodgates to thousands more victims who claim DVT is caused by air travel meaning an estimated £10m bill for airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
This week Watford-based Collins Solicitors, representing the complainants, said the aim was to establish the connection between DVT and air travel and that airlines should have taken steps to warn passengers about the risks sooner.
Said senior partner Des Collins: "This clearly is a new area of law and the court is going to have to establish a precedent binding on further cases in this country.
"There is concern about the extent to which the public has been made aware of the risks. If the public is to have confidence in air travel it must have these important issues examined.
"But experts continue to disagree on whether DVT, which can be caused by long periods of immobility, is directly linked to air travel and inquiries by the House of Lords and the World Health Organisation have found no conclusive link.
A spokesman for British Airways confirmed it was involved in the case and said it took the health and well-being of passengers seriously."We provide health advice to all our passengers through information in ticket wallets, on the Internet, through on-board viewing, over the telephone and in various in-flight magazines," he said.
But added: "British Airways sympathises with all victims of DVT, but since there is no proven link between flying and DVT all claims will continue to be resisted." |
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