14 DAY TRIAL // Lourdes Cervantes from Texas is suing Continental Airlines because someone spilled hot coffee in her lap on a flight from Madrid to Newark, N.J. She’s asking for $170,550 (€131,394) in damages, according to the lawsuit obtained by the LA Times.
The report notes that no flight attendant was directly responsible for the incident but, as the Montreal Convention of 1999 states, airline companies can be held accountable for certain incidents that occur on their planes.
Basically, what happened was that a flight attendant was pouring coffee in a cup on the coffee tray for Mrs. Cervantes when the passenger in front reclined the seat to be a bit more comfortable.
The hot coffee spilled on Mrs. Cervantes’ lap, resulting in second-degree burns to her thighs and “permanent scarring and disfiguration.”
“The suit cites the Montreal Convention of 1999, which makes carriers on international flights liable, under certain conditions, for injuries or deaths of passengers on such flights,” the LA Times writes.
The airline company has refused to comment, being company policy not to say anything on pending litigation.