Australian court allows DVT passengers to sue airlines

An Australian court has cleared the way for passengers who develop "economy class syndrome" during long-haul flights to sue airlines.

The judgment has come just hours before a similar case was to be decided by the High Court in London.

The Australian ruling, by the Victoria State Supreme Court, will give added hope to a group of 55 survivors of deep vein thrombosis, and relatives of people now dead, who are due to discover the result of their action in the High Court in London.

The Australian court rejected a claim by Qantas Airways and British Airways that a clot suffered by a Sydney man on board its flights should not be classed as an accident.

Under international aviation law, airlines are liable for damages only in the case of an accident.

The ruling, by Justice Bernard Bongiorno, means the case will now probably go to trial late next year.

Qantas said it would respond to the man's claims in court next year and made no further comment.

The test case, involving a 59-year-old man who no longer works after developing a blood clot while on a three-day return business trip from Sydney to London, is the first of 497 potential lawsuits regarding deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, which have been lodged with an Australian law firm.

Mr Justice Nelson, sitting in London, faces a similar case, and has to decide whether DVT can be classed as an accident under the terms of the 1929 Warsaw Convention.

If the British court rules in their favour, the claimants plan to take action against up to 30 airlines, including British Airways, Delta Airlines and American Airlines.