Case Brief #2 & 3. Legal Issues in International Transportation

Student’s Name:
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Case 1
1 Citation
Olympic Airways v. Husain (2004) 540 U.S. 644
2 Facts
An airline passenger named Abid Hanson with his wife Rubina Husain sat close to the smoking zone on non-smoking seats. Knowing her husband was allergic to smoke, she requested twice that she and her husband to be moved far from the zone. Nonetheless, all her requests were turned down despite the fact that the smoke was seriously bothering Mr. Hanson. Unfortunately, Hanson was pronounced dead during the flight and his wife Mrs. Husain filed a suit against the airline in California Federal District Court for her damages sustained under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention. Husain was awarded $ 1.4 million on the ground that her husband was accidental and was therefore entitled for compensation. Upon the airline’s appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the decision.
3 Issue
Is aggravation of a passenger’s pre-existing medical condition through exposure to normal airplane conditions accidental under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention?
4 Decision
Yes. It was held that the events on the flight leading to the untimely demise of Hanson were an accident under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention based on a similar case involving Air France v. Saks (1985) in which the court ruled that “injury is the product of a chain of causes” and that Hanson’s death was caused by the failure of the flight att...