Passenger suing United Continental for $170,550 over spilled beverage
Almasalla Travel News – A Texas woman is suing United Continental Holdings Inc. after she says she was badly burned by spilled coffee on a flight from Madrid to Newark in 2011.
The Daily Mail reports that lawyers for Lourdes Cervantes filed a suit in court last week detailing the incident she claimed took place during a Continental flight before the two airlines merged.
According to court papers, while en route, a flight attendant placed a coffee on Cervantes’ tray table and when the passenger in the seat in front reclined the chair, the hot beverage slid and fell onto her legs.
While attorney, Shaw Clifford, confirmed that she did suffer quite a bit of pain, the situation was aggravated by the fact that Cervantes suffers from multiple sclerosis and couldn’t move away to avoid the burn.
According to the lawsuit, Cervantes received second-degree burns to her inner thighs requiring medical treatment and leaving her with permanent scarring in the affected areas.
Over a year after the alleged incident, Ms Cervantes is suing United Continental for $170 550, the maximum compensation allowable under a 1999 treaty known as the Montreal Convention.
According to the Montreal Convention, victims of air accidents on international flights are compensated for any physical or emotional injuries sustained in-flight.
The airline meanwhile have said they do not comment on pending litigation
Source : news24.com
