The High Court has dismissed Liam Hennessey’s appeal against a preliminary ruling that the Warsaw Convention governs his claims against Aer Lingus over damage to his motorised wheelchair during an international flight.
Mr Justice Hedigan delivered the judgment on 13 March 2012. The appeal was a full rehearing, but was confined to whether the Convention provided the exclusive cause of action. The court said it could assume, for that issue, that the passenger would prove the facts he alleged. It did not determine whether Aer Lingus was negligent or whether he suffered the claimed injuries.
The judgment said Mr Hennessey, who uses a wheelchair, travelled from Düsseldorf to Dublin on 15 February 2002. His motorised wheelchair was damaged in the aircraft’s cargo hold. Aer Lingus apologised and offered compensation under the Convention, but he rejected the offer and brought proceedings. He alleged that being left without his wheelchair affected his health and caused depression. He also claimed negligence and breaches of statutory duties under the Occupiers Liability Act 1995 and the Equal Status Act 2000.
The Circuit Court had decided the preliminary issue in February 2009, finding that the Convention provided the exclusive remedy and barred claims under domestic law. The High Court upheld that decision. It held that the Convention applied to the international carriage and that its provisions covered both alleged personal injury and damage to property. Article 24, the judge said, precluded concurrent claims under the Convention and domestic law, including claims framed in negligence or as breaches of statutory duty.
Mr Hennessey also relied on voluntary passenger service commitments concerning people with reduced mobility. The court found those commitments were expressly described as non-legally binding and did not create an enforceable right or alter the Convention’s exclusivity.
The High Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Circuit Court’s decision on the preliminary issue. The judgment did not resolve the underlying factual allegations or award damages.