In a landmark decision a NSW Supreme Court judge recently ruled
a person who was seriously injured in a plane crash has the right
to claim damages for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the air
operator.
Key to the decision was Justice Monika Schmidt's acceptance
that the definition of the words "bodily injury" could
include PTSD. It is a term that was first used in 1929 for laws
regarding compensation for air crash victims and it didn't
include purely psychological injuries.
Victoria Gallanders, travel law specialist at Stacks Goudkamp,
said compensation for international plane crash injuries today are
under the Montreal Convention 1999.
The case centred on a nurse on a care flight that crashed into
the sea near Norfolk Island after running out of fuel in 2009. The
nurse had several serious physical injuries and the airline
accepted they were liable for those injuries. The airline also
conceded the nurse's depressive and anxiety disorders were
caused by her
