No Article 17 Accident In Passenger Slip-And-Fall

Judy Nemsick is a Partner in our New York office

In Vanderwall v. United Airlines, Inc., __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2015 WL 309094 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 26, 2015), a federal district court in Florida granted summary judgment to the airline dismissing personal injury claims by a passenger who slipped on a piece of translucent plastic wrap in the aisle during a flight from Houston to London. The dispute focused on whether plaintiff could establish an Article 17 accident under the Montreal Convention.

Recognizing that not every incident on an aircraft constitutes an accident, the court examined whether plaintiff's injuries were caused by an unexpected or unusual event. The airline relied on other Article 17 cases granting summary judgment dismissal where a passenger tripped on shoes located on the floor between two seats (Craig v. Compagnie Nationale Air France, 45 F.3d 435 (9th Cir. 1994)) and where a passenger slipped on a plastic bag on the cabin floor beneath a seat. See