Stories in the news can remind us of many important things. A recent headline and story from England once again highlights the fact that being a member of an airline cabin crew can be a dangerous job. According to an Aviation Herald report, a flight attendant aboard an Irish airline’s plane was seriously injured when a beverage/meal cart broke free and crashed into his legs. As much as these news stories provide important reminders about the risks of being a flight attendant, it is also important to remember that, if you are hurt working as a member of a cabin crew, you may have certain legal options available to you to compensate you for your injuries. To learn more about the exact options you have, be certain to talk to a knowledgeable Chicago injury attorney.
From the cockpit of the airline’s Cologne-to-London flight, it perhaps seemed unremarkable as the flight was landing. However, in the cabin, a catering cart had broken free and, when the pilot hit the brakes, the cart raced toward a flight attendant and slammed into him. The flight attendant had been sitting in a passenger seat on the only partially-filled flight and, just moments before the cart crashed into him, raised his knees to his chest to protect himself. The impact seriously injured the flight attendant, inflicting a “suspected fracture” of his left femur.
This flight attendant’s broken leg is not the first time a runaway cart has caused havoc aboard a flight. Last year, a cart aboard an American Airlines flight slammed into a passenger’s head and allegedly impacted him with sufficient force to cause the man chronic traumatic brain injury and post-concussive syndrome.
Of course, the risk of injury to flight attendants, when it comes to beverage carts, is often greater than that faced by passengers. Some 20 years ago, research was performed that indicated that close to one-third of all flight attendant injuries involved drink/meal cart accidents. Turbulence can lead to substantial possible danger for flight attendants in this regard. In one Dallas-to-Memphis flight, the turbulence was so bad that it sent a beverage cart into the air. The flying cart came to land on two flight attendants, substantially injuring them.
For flight attendants, the possible damage inflicted by beverage carts goes beyond just the runaway or flying ones. Beverage/meal carts can weigh 300, 400 or even 500 pounds and are sometimes not maintained in perfect condition. The stress of pushing and pulling these carts, including the ones in imperfect condition, can cause serious harm to the flight attendants moving them about the cabin.
As a flight attendant injured by a beverage cart while you were working, you may have various options. In many situations, your beverage cart injuries could entitle you to receive an award of workers’ compensation benefits. Sometimes, in special circumstances, it might be possible to pursue a civil suit and an award of damages for your injuries. To make sure you get all the compensation you deserve for the injuries you suffered, talk to the experienced Chicago injury attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. Our attorneys have been effectively representing injured airline employees for many years and are ready to put our abilities and resources to work for you. To set up a free case evaluation, contact us at 312-724-5846 or through our website.
More Blog Posts:
Will Incidents of Unexpected Midair Turbulence Only Get More Frequent and More Severe?, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, June 11, 2018
Runaway Beverage Carts and Safety in the Air, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, Oct. 23, 2017