Olympic Airways is appealing the district court finding of liability under the Warsaw Convention in the death of a passenger, Dr. Abid Hanson, onboard one of its flights. Dr. Hanson died from an extreme asthma attack caused by exposure to tobacco smoke onboard the flight. The appellate court upheld the district court’s finding that the flight attendant’s failure to help Dr. Hanson upon repeated requests by his wife deviated from industry standards and Olympic’s policies and, therefore, constituted an “accident” which was a cause of Dr. Hanson’s death. The court also affirmed the district court’s finding that the flight attendant’s conduct constituted “willful misconduct,” a determination that removes the cap otherwise imposed on carrier liability under the Convention.
An individual or organization may seek civil damages against a tobacco company based on the claim that the use of tobacco products causes disease or death. Some of these cases will relate to general tobacco products, while others will relate to specific subcategories of tobacco products--for example, light or low products, menthol or other flavored products. Additionally, there may be cases relating to exposure to secondhand smoke.
Olympic Airways is appealing the district court finding of liability under the Warsaw Convention in the death of a passenger, Dr. Abid Hanson, onboard one of its flights. Dr. Hanson died from an extreme asthma attack caused by exposure to tobacco smoke onboard the flight. The appellate court upheld the district court’s finding that the flight attendant’s failure to help Dr. Hanson upon repeated requests by his wife deviated from industry standards and Olympic’s policies and, therefore, constituted an “accident” which was a cause of Dr. Hanson’s death. The court also affirmed the district court’s finding that the flight attendant’s conduct constituted “willful misconduct,” a determination that removes the cap otherwise imposed on carrier liability under the Convention.