Stewardess Wins Compensation for Injury in the Aircraft

Gail Ormiston-White, a resident of Buckinghamshire and a former stewardess at British Airways is all set to receive £ 280,000 as work injury compensation from the airlines. The former stewardess suffered injuries when a metal canister fell on her head in the aircraft at the Heathrow airport.

The episode happened in July 2008 when a canister of ice fell on her head. The doctor’s report clearly stated that she suffered neurological problems as a result of the accident. The law of negligence came into picture when Gail’s lawyer, Freya Newbery appealed that the airlines was in breach of its statutory duty as far as safety of the employees was concerned.

Freya Newbery has been Mrs. White’s counsel since the accident happened and has been working on the case ever since Mrs. White decided to seek compensation for her injuries from the airlines. Freya Newbery has handled a number of cases in the past and has a fair bit of experience behind her back to handle cases like these.

The work injury compensation claim was made by Ormiston-White only recently after she got in touch with a ‘ no win no fee solicitor ’ to discuss her options. The issue was taken to court and the decision from the judge, Justice MacDuff was still pending when the airlines decided to settle the issue outside the court. The two parties settled on an amount of £ 280,000 as a work injury compensation for Ormiston-White.

Events that Unfolded

It was work as usual for Mrs. Orminston-White until she went to get water for the passengers onboard from a metal canister in the gallery.

There was another canister of ice right in front of the canister of water and as Mrs. Orminston-White attempted to move the canister of ice, some ice fell on the floor.

The canister of ice then fell on her head as she tried to pick up the ice on the floor. Orminston-White told the reporters that she was glad it was all done with and that the two parties had reached a fair settlement.

Work injury compensation claims cases are generally very time consuming and it takes the court a few months to reach the decision. This is one of the rare instances where a settlement was reached outside the court.

Over the past few years, a lot of cases related to accidents at work have gone to court. Decisions for a lot of cases are still pending but on this occasion the airlines decided to settle the matter outside court, which apparently worked well for both parties. If you have been injured in a work accident you should get free legal advice form a personal injury solicitor and see if you have a claim.

Source: BBC News.