Court clears flightpath for claims over blood clots

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Passengers blaming Air New Zealand and other carriers for life-threatening blood clots have gained hope from the Australian High Court granting a right of appeal to a Melbourne man.

The court ruled there were important questions of law in the case of 62-year-old Brian Povey against Qantas and British Airways, and a full bench of judges should examine them next year.

Mr Povey suffered a stroke from deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT, after flying back from Britain in 2000. He was left with permanent disabilities that forced him to stop working.

He and other passengers in a legal queue behind him received a setback in December when Victoria's Court of Appeal ruled his injury was not an accident under the international Warsaw Convention.

Air New Zealand won a ruling last week, echoing the Victorian verdict, from a United States federal appeal court against a claim by an American woman who collapsed during a stopover in Auckland with blood clots.

The airline said then it was more concerned about the Australian High Court case and another before Britain's House of Lords, which gave leave for 55 thrombosis victims and families to appeal against a decision in favour of it and other carriers.

An airline spokeswoman did not want to comment yesterday on the latest ruling, saying it would be inappropriate to discuss the case.

Mr Povey's lawyer in Melbourne could not be reached for comment, but was quoted in the Herald-Sun newspaper as saying his firm had 330 claims pending against 54 airlines and his client's case would determine the fate of all other such actions in Australia.

Wellington lawyer Roger Chapman is also waiting to advance claims lodged on behalf of almost 30 New Zealand families in the Auckland District Court against Air NZ and six other airlines.


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