NEWS: Passenger sues Qantas, British Airways over DVT, stroke A.K.A. Economy Class Syndrome

An Australian man has filed a lawsuit against Qantas and British Airways. He is claiming that on a long haul flight he developed a deep vein thrombosis that eventually lead to a stroke. His lawyers claim that the airlines were aware of the risks and chose not to inform passengers. If the suit is allowed to go forth, there are over 300 others waiting to be filed.



The so called �economy class syndrome� is a real occurrence on long haul flights. Blood in legs that are immobile for long periods pools and clots develop and can travel through the circulatory system and cause strokes or pulmonary emboli. The question is this, how can the airlines prevent it? Seat pitch is one aspect, but are people willing to pay more for it? You also cannot force people to move about the cabin if they do not want to either. If they warn passengers, no doubt lawyers that sue the airline will point to acknowledgment of problems. It�s a no win for everybody.

The problem of D.V.T. is very real on long haul flights, however as FredT stated airlines can't force passengers to move about. If Brian Povey does win his case this could possibly mean medical and/or
blood tests for potential passengers over a certain age, but i can't really see this happening due to
personal medical history privacy laws. And from another angle, Qantas, B.A. etc, do not build the aircraft they merely use them in much the same way that a cab driver uses a vehicle made by an auto maker.

This is a pretty cool (Aussie) invention that may be seen as standard in the future for long haul flights.

The Travel Treadmill is a 'mini-walking' machine which may help prevent long-distance travellers from developing Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

www.abc.net.au...

[edit on 8-12-2004 by sanctum]

Originally posted by sanctum
And from another angle, Qantas, B.A. etc, do not build the aircraft they merely use them in much the same way that a cab driver uses a vehicle made by an auto maker.

Sactum,
The airlines can configure their aircraft to however they see fit. If they want to furnish their aircraft with all economy they can. It's a known fact that the airlines configure their aircraft to fit the most amount of people that they can and still abide by weight restrictions.
The airlines don't have to "squeeze" their seats but they do it to earn more revenue. more people=more $$ plain and simple.

BTW: your link is dead

rancid1, i just checked the link and it works for me. Here is a short cut/paste,

The Travel Treadmill is made of freely moving wheels, fitted with roller bearings, and covered with two treadmills (one for each foot). In a plane/train/coach, the machine could be secured in a drawer-type structure under the seat in front of you. When you felt the need to exercise, you could simply pull the machine out of the drawer and move your feet to circulate the blood.

And as far as "squeezing" seats, you have a valid point however i think this really only applies on
short/medium flights. It is a well known fact that airlines reserve the right to 'ask' a passenger of
large carriage to purchase two seats for many reasons, one of which is safety in case of an evacuation. But as always, some passengers will baulk at the cost of buying an adjoining seat.

Sanc'.

Sanctum, you are dead wrong. The standard economy class passenger seat is 19" inches wide, but when you take into account the armrests and other devices, the actual width is around 16". Even a person of "regular carriage" is squeezed.

A cheer for the man from Sydney to finally stand up and say "This is Wrong!, and YOU know it."

An airline passenger's comfort has always been and always will be the last consideration. Keep your dollars flowing boys and girls, but don't expect a damn thing for them.

Well, as this thread seems to be drifting off topic, the point is awareness of ones state of health
would be of great benefit to anyone who chooses to fly. Pressure stockings and perhaps a visit to
the doctor pre-flight would certainly help anyone with concerns about flying, health wise.

The effects of cabin pressure can be easily explained by ones ears blocking, and then pinching your nose to remedy this as the aircraft gains altitude.

Sanc'.

Great - another twit trying to make a quick buck by blaming someone else for his own problems or stupidity.

He better not have a bed or a La-Z-Boy at home or taken any long drives in his car because those things can cause his DVT as well, thereby making his lawsuit a bit of a joke....

Man, if I owned an airline or car company, I would make everyone sign a contract stating that 1. Mechanical objects can break and 2. that physics is a bitch and 3. that I choose to use such conveyance and may die from carriage in said vehicle because of 1 or 2.

It really pi**es me off to no end that people will not fess up and take some personal responsibility for their own choices or actions - nobody forced anyone to take a flight or buy a car - it's a friggen convenience for G's sake....

Of all the world's airlines of international standing, British Airways has had the most ridiculous economy class seating configurations I have seen.

Never mind lateral squeezing. When you cannot even fit your femur straight between your seat and the one in front, then you can't expect to do much by way of recommended foot exercises and mini-yoga.

Express your concern to a stewardess. She will say "Yes, we get a lot of complaints about that". Problem solved.

*based on most recent experiences over two years ago*

Roll on class action.

This situation is just like the stupid suits filed by people who claimed Mickey D's coffee should have had a warning on it stating it was too hot. Or lablels on their burgers "Warning Eating Burgers can cause Obesity! "

I have the solution right here. Require all those flying long flights to have a cat scan prior to arrival at the airport. (They Pay the cost) If the scan shows they have the symptoms you then tell the passenger, sorry sir or Madam you have DVT we cannot accomodate you unless you sign this wavier prior toi flight. Problem solved.

No doubt this is just something that some lawyer wannbe has his own get rich scheme or as they are called down under ballisters? am I correct?


Just plain and simple this is down right stupity and should be thrown out before it even gets into court.



[edit on 12/8/2004 by shots]

These cases have been brewing for almost a decade, there is no get rich scheme here. Airlines who knew and did not advise of the risk are as culpable as tobacco companies who were doing the same for so many years.

Originally posted by sanctum
but i can't really see this happening due to
personal medical history privacy laws.

I'm sure they certainly can bring about the requirement of medical 'releases' from doctors.

I was told I had to have a 'release' from my doctor in my ninth month of pregnancy in order to fly an international flight. They did not want to be held responsible if I went into labour while in flight.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
These cases have been brewing for almost a decade, there is no get rich scheme here. Airlines who knew and did not advise of the risk are as culpable as tobacco companies who were doing the same for so many years.

I understand what you are saying but it still sounds stupid to me. The very same situation can happen in a car on a long trip. Does that mean the auto maker has to put a warning on the vehicle that you should take frequent rest breaks? No of course not, we have something called common sense in the world, however some people no longer use it.


If these types of suits continue, I can see the day when everything we buy or use has a warning label on it ten 20 or 30 pages long. Don't laugh take a look, it has already started on packing materials.

Originally posted by shots
This situation is just like the stupid suits filed by people who claimed Mickey D's coffee should have had a warning on it stating it was too hot.

Actually in leaked documents the reason McDonald lost the lawsuit is that they as a corporation knew that thier coffer (served at like 190 degrees) was way to hot and in a corporate memo stated that the risk of a lawsuit was less than the cost of replacing the equipment.

Back on topic: At some point, assumed risk has to take over here. Are people willing to give up thier cheap seats? Are people willing to pay or can afford to pay 3K for an economy class seat for a trans Pacific flight? Ill bet the answer is no. Perhaps they need to make TED hose and SCD devices avalible on every flight. The TEDS are elestic stocking and the SCD's or Sequential Compression Devices are air bladders that sequentialy compress the legs to force blood up.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
These cases have been brewing for almost a decade, there is no get rich scheme here. Airlines who knew and did not advise of the risk are as culpable as tobacco companies who were doing the same for so many years.

Indeed, on the long haul flights I've done lately I don't doubt the sincerity of these cases.

And as far as "squeezing" seats, you have a valid point however i think this really only applies on
short/medium flights.

Very wrong, I did a 7 1/2 hour flight not long ago and the amount of room I had was rediculous, in fact scandalous. I felt like a battery hen. Seriously, would it kill them to remove on fecking row just so everyone could have a little room to play with? I mean seriously, when they brought the food out no one had any room to put it down and eat it, watching people fidgeting around trying to get at their food was just plain embarassing.

Not to mention the fact that I'm severely claustrophobic, I thought I was going to seriously crack at one point, it was very stressful.

Originally posted by FredT

Originally posted by shots
This situation is just like the stupid suits filed by people who claimed Mickey D's coffee should have had a warning on it stating it was too hot.

Actually in leaked documents the reason McDonald lost the lawsuit is that they as a corporation knew that thier coffer (served at like 190 degrees) was way to hot and in a corporate memo stated that the risk of a lawsuit was less than the cost of replacing the equipment.

Back on topic: At some point, assumed risk has to take over here. Are people willing to give up thier cheap seats? Are people willing to pay or can afford to pay 3K for an economy class seat for a trans Pacific flight? Ill bet the answer is no. Perhaps they need to make TED hose and SCD devices avalible on every flight. The TEDS are elestic stocking and the SCD's or Sequential Compression Devices are air bladders that sequentialy compress the legs to force blood up.

Yes Fred I realize that Micky D's did get caught for selling what in fact was coffee that was super hot and they should have labled those. I guess in the heat of the moment I over reacting by adding what was a rather bad example.

I also agree that most will not pay the additional money to put those on airlines meaning the devices you mentioned.

I have warn the compression stockings daily (custom Fit) for years now, I call them Sup Hose do not know the actual medical name for them, but have had Lyphodemia (SP) or (swelling of the legs) for several years which is the very same thing as DVT. Speaking from expercience and having the actual problem with my legs, I see no reason why in hell this person was not aware of his condition. I know I sure as hell was.

My guess is if one looked read hard at his previous health records they would find his family doctor/quack was not doing his job right. Mine caught the condition long before I was aware I even had the syptoms.

If you don't like the seats take a ship. My plane, my seating arrangement. As for the portly folks needing more than one seat it is not just a revenue item nor comfort. Weight is taken into account for CG and fuel amount.