A Texas woman is suing United
Continental Holdings Inc. after she says she was badly burned by spilled
coffee on a flight from Madrid to Newark in 2011.
Lawyers for Lourdes Cervantes from Harris County filed a suit in court last week detailing the incident she claimed took place during a Continental flight before the two airlines merged.
According to court papers, while en route from Spain to the U.S., a flight attendant placed a coffee on Ms Cervantes' tray table. When the passenger in the seat in front reclined the chair, the hot beverage slid and fell onto her legs.
The plaintiff's attorney, Shaw Clifford, told KTRH News: 'She did suffer quite a bit of pain.'
He added: 'What made it even worse is that Ms Cervantes has multiple sclerosis, so when the coffee spilled on her she couldn't get up. She just had to sit there and take it.'
According to the lawsuit, Ms Cervantes received second-degree burns to her inner thighs requiring medical treatment and leaving her with permanent scarring in the affected areas.
Over a year after the alleged incident, Ms Cervantes is suing United Continental for $170,550, the maximum compensation allowable under a 1999 treaty known as the Montreal Convention.
According to the Montreal Convention, victims of air accidents on international flights are compensated for any physical or emotional injuries sustained in-flight.
Mr Clifford explained: 'This is a treaty the United States and several other countries entered into to regulate international flights so there would be one set of rules.'
The law demands only proof of injury by accident, which says Mr Clifford is a 'lesser standard of proof than a negligent standard of proof. So all we have to prove is an accident, and as a result of that accident she suffered injuries and damages.'
Mr Clifford is demanding a jury trial on behalf of his client. The airline meanwhile have said they do not comment on pending litigation.
Lawyers for Lourdes Cervantes from Harris County filed a suit in court last week detailing the incident she claimed took place during a Continental flight before the two airlines merged.
According to court papers, while en route from Spain to the U.S., a flight attendant placed a coffee on Ms Cervantes' tray table. When the passenger in the seat in front reclined the chair, the hot beverage slid and fell onto her legs.
Liable: A Harris County, Texas woman is suing
United Continental over a cup of spilled coffee she says left her with
second degree burns during a flight from Madrid to Newark in 2011
He added: 'What made it even worse is that Ms Cervantes has multiple sclerosis, so when the coffee spilled on her she couldn't get up. She just had to sit there and take it.'
According to the lawsuit, Ms Cervantes received second-degree burns to her inner thighs requiring medical treatment and leaving her with permanent scarring in the affected areas.
Over a year after the alleged incident, Ms Cervantes is suing United Continental for $170,550, the maximum compensation allowable under a 1999 treaty known as the Montreal Convention.
According to the Montreal Convention, victims of air accidents on international flights are compensated for any physical or emotional injuries sustained in-flight.
Mr Clifford explained: 'This is a treaty the United States and several other countries entered into to regulate international flights so there would be one set of rules.'
The law demands only proof of injury by accident, which says Mr Clifford is a 'lesser standard of proof than a negligent standard of proof. So all we have to prove is an accident, and as a result of that accident she suffered injuries and damages.'
Mr Clifford is demanding a jury trial on behalf of his client. The airline meanwhile have said they do not comment on pending litigation.
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