Must a claim for airline passenger compensation satisfy the state legislative threshold?

In brief - Court examines applicability of Part VBA of Wrongs Act in a personal injury claim

The recent decision of Justice Keogh in the Supreme Court of Victoria in Di Falco v Emirates [2018] VSC 472 involved the determination of the preliminary question: Does Part VBA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) apply to the claim of a plaintiff who alleges she fell and injured her ankle while making her way to the toilet on a flight from Melbourne to Dubai?

The claim was brought pursuant to the Montreal Convention 1999 as scheduled to the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth) (Carriers' Liability Act).

The airline had pleaded in its defence that Part VBA of the Wrongs Act applied such that damage for non-economic loss was not recoverable unless the plaintiff had suffered a significant injury.