Montreal Convention: On December 16, 2014, a U.S. Army soldier was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 280 bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport from Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea. The soldier’s ultimate destination was Louisville, Kentucky to spend time at home on Christmas leave. Approximately three hours into the flight when the plane was over Japan, they experienced severe turbulence lasting for over an hour. The turbulence was so severe that the pilots decided to make an emergency landing at Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan.
During the flight, our client was seated on an aisle seat on the exit row with his seatbelt fastened. The turbulence was so severe that his seatbelt came undone and, on one of the drastic descends of the airplane, he hit his head on the luggage compartment and ceiling of the aircraft. He ended up landing on the floor between his seat and the wall in front of him.
Slack Davis Sanger represented this soldier under the Montreal Convention, which holds airlines liable for injuries caused on international flights. Ladd Sanger secured a settlement to help pay for this soldier’s past and future medical bills and other damages.