Actions for Aviation Injuries and Death

“Since ancient times, human beings have known of the dangers of flight. The mythologies of Greece, Crete, Persia and other lands include stories of injurious attempts by men and women to soar into the firmament.  In his Metamorphoses, Ovid describes the winged flight of Daedalus and Icarus, brought to an end by the youth’s reckless attempt to soar too high. The appellant in this case likewise complains of an injury caused by his air travel. However, whereas Icarus had only his father Daedalus to assist him in his peril, the appellant has the Warsaw Convention. To that Convention he has appealed. But as I shall explain, it is of no greater avail.”

Povey v Qantas Airways Limited [2005] HCA 33; (2005) 79 ALJR 1215, per Kirby J.

This area of practice often requires some knowledge of different legal systems, liability theories, the basic principles of private international law, court’s jurisdiction limits, and the court rules for foreign service of process.

The goal of this paper is to equip the busy practitioner with some, hopefully enough, information to assist them to assess and investigate the viability of an aviation claim and then take steps to ensure that it gets off on the right foot.

The paper is lengthy, canvassing a raft of topics in this jurisprudential space, but the index thereto is hyperlinked to allow of ready selected topic access.

Actions for Aviation Injuries and Death