BRITAIN: British airline passengers fighting for compensation over deep vein thrombosis (DVT) vowed yesterday to take their case to the House of Lords after suffering another courtroom defeat.
The Court of Appeal in London rejected their bid to overturn a ruling last year by a High Court judge that blocked their claims.
Three senior judges in London expressed their sympathy, but unanimously dismissed an appeal brought by 24 claimants against the decision of Mr Justice Nelson that DVT, the so-called "economy-class syndrome", was not an accident under the terms of the 1929 Warsaw Convention.
Solicitors for the claimants immediately described the decision by Lord Phillips, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Judge and Lord Justice Kay, as a "major blow", but said they were "determined" to take the action on to the highest court in the land.
Ms Ruth Christoffersen, whose daughter Emma (28) from Newport, south Wales, died in 2000 after suffering DVT on a flight from Sydney, said: "I am saddened and disheartened at today's decision."
The appeal by the claimants was successfully contested by 18 airlines, who say there is no evidence of a specific link between flying and DVT.
Mr Sean Gates, senior partner with solicitors Beaumont and Son, one of the firms acting on behalf of the airlines, welcomed the ruling.
He said: "The decision of the Court of Appeal reflects the view the airlines have always maintained, and we believe it was correct. The airlines maintain there is no evidence of a link between air carriage and DVT, and indeed if there was such a link it is difficult to see why the World Health Organisation would be conducting a massive and expensive inquiry into the issue."
There were originally around 50 claimants in the group action, but the judges heard that the remainder did not have the funds to continue.
DVT is a blood clot, usually in the leg, which develops when movement is restricted. It can be fatal if the clot reaches the lungs or brain.
Upholding the ruling of Mr Justice Nelson, Lord Phillips said that, for there to be an accident which could give rise to a claim, there had to be some "unexpected, unusual event or happening" occurring during the course of a flight, or whilst embarking or disembarking. A failure to warn passengers about DVT or to advise on precautions to limit the risk of DVT did not amount to such an event or happening, the court ruled.