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In-flight injuries

Unfortunately, in-flight injuries are common, especially on commercial airlines. While many passengers may suffer from bruises which may take a few days to heal, others may suffer more pains and are obliged to be absent from work for days. When this happens, a passenger may be able to file a legal claim to recover the costs of the accident.

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Falling luggage on commercial flights

  • Putting luggage packed tightly in the above bin, a passenger grabs one of them gorily to set it free from the others which may lead to falling bags on shoulders or heads of the seated passengers.
  • A broken or a stuck latch in the above bin so passengers or flight attendants can’t close it properly.
  • Luggage’s movement during the flight in the above bin which all flight attendants warn about, so if the passengers aren’t aware of that then the bag will fall suddenly after opening the bin without any resistance.
Credit: https://eyeoftheflyer.com/
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Injuries of falling luggages

  • Head Injuries: In case the passenger’s head gets harsh stuck, this may cause a fracture on the skull.
  • Facial Injuries: Fallen luggage may cause broken noses, deep facial lacerations, or eye injuries that could lead to blindness. Even if these wounds are treated, they may cause permanent disfigurement.
  • Trips and falls: The unaligned items under seats may cause the passengers’ to trip and fall while walking in aisles. Crew members have to make regular checks to observe these items and prevent these similar accidents.
  • Arms and legs injuries: While some passengers grab their bags in a hurry from the above bin, others may be hurt. So flight attendants have to be careful during helping passengers to deplane.
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Credit: https://www.traveller.com.au/

Other causes of injuries

  • One of the causes of injuries is rolling food carts, it can injure seated passengers during rolling by in shoulder or other parts of the body while passengers’ moving in the cabin.
  • Turbulence also causes many in-flight accidents like falling unbelted passengers or flight crew members from their seats. So, the pilot and flight crew have to warn the passengers before this.
Credit: https://www.reviewed.com/
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Steps that should be taken after the injury

The injured passenger has to gather evidence after the injury. In some cases, the injury may be serious and the pilot is obliged to make an emergency landing. In any way the injured passenger has to take some steps in getting medical help as fast as possible, some injuries may not show up until later because of the adrenaline. So, the injured passenger has to go to the doctor quickly because the longer the delay the more likely it is that the insurance agent will claim that you were hurt in another incident.

After an injury from falling overhead luggage, he/she should then take photos of the injuries and the scene of the accident to document the extent of the damage and how the accident occurred in the first place.

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Other passengers on the plane may see the accident so they could give their testimony to prove what happened. They may approve if the bin was broken or defective, or if the flight attendant did not properly close it. So the passenger will need receipts of payment made to the airline, medical notes, and treatment notes, hospital receipts, boarding passes, and more. Then you can contact a qualified airplane accident attorney who can handle your case for you.

Credit: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/
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Compensations of falling luggage injuries

The insurance agent handles the claim and determines the extent of the injury and its effect on the injured passenger’s work and life. Then he presents an offer depending on that, as:

  • Property damage for any lost or broken items in the incident.
  • Medical expenses for the future and past injuries.
  • Pain and suffering damages if you were emotionally traumatized, left with PTSD or anxiety, or experienced other psychological injuries from the event.
  • Expense for the lost income as a result of an absence of work because of the injury.
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Sources

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