In November, 2009, an aircraft operated by Pel-Air Aviation Pty
Ltd. ("Pel-Air") flew on a charter flight from
Samoa to evacuate a patient and her husband to Melbourne. Six
people were on board the aircraft, including Ms. Karen Casey, a
nurse employed by Care Flight (NSW), and Dr. David Helm. The
aircraft was scheduled to refuel at Norfolk Island but poor weather
forced the pilot to ditch the aircraft in the sea. Everyone
on board the aircraft survived, but Ms. Casey and Dr. Helm were
both seriously injured and commenced an action against Pel-Air in
the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
As the case involved an international flight, the Montreal
Convention applied to their claims for damages. At trial, the
primary judge of the Supreme Court found in favour of the
Plaintiffs and awarded damages to Ms. Casey for both her physical
and psychological injuries, including PTSD (click here for our prior blog entry discussing this
decision).
