Crash victim's wait for payout
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3010821.stm
Mike Akehurst: Still waiting for compensation pay out
A mid Wales passenger on a plane which crash-landed in Spain will not receive his promised compensation until legal action by other passengers is completed.
On Tuesday, a judge ruled that more than 70 holidaymakers could take legal action against Thomson Holidays for psychological damage caused when their Britannia Airways Boeing 757 crashed in Gerona.
The plane was carrying 236 passengers from Cardiff when it was forced to land in a field in a heavy thunder storm in September 1999.
Mike Akehurst of Aberystwyth was one of several passengers who received compensation for physical injuries suffered during the crash.
Although I did fly back to Britain a week after the crash I was in a hell of a state and it took me a long time before I flew again.
Mike Akehurst, plane crash victim
He decided to settle a claim for £3,500 last October, but is unhappy because he still has not received the money.
"I refused a compensation offer on three occasions because I suffered an injury to my back because of the crash," said Mr Akehurst.
Psychological damage
"But my solicitors advised me to take another offer of £3,500 because they said it would be difficult for me to prove I'd suffered psychological damage because of the crash.
"Although I did fly back to Britain a week after the crash I was in a hell of a state and it took me a long time before I flew again."
"But what I don't understand is why my solicitors are hanging onto the money."
Mr Akehurst's solicitor is Gwen Evans, whose firm has led the battle for the majority of claimants to be able to sue Thomson Holidays for psychological damage.
Passengers cannot pursue further action against Britannia Airways
"Some claimants accepted a settlement but others decided to pursue the psychological damage action," said Miss Evans.
"We acted on behalf of claimants on a no-win, no-fee basis but the claimants have had the benefit of advice from a barrister and medial experts where costs will need to be paid."
Miss Evans said those costs could not be paid until the litigation had ended and that claimants had been fully informed throughout the continuing action.
And with the possibility of the 70 passengers suing Thomson for psychological damage, this could be many months away.
"Until the litigation has ended it cannot be determined what the individual liability for these costs might be, if at all."
Miss Evans added that Mr Akehurst's settlement sum was being held in a deposit account while the action continued.
Mark Godden: The plane dropped 1,000 feet in a split second
On Tuesday, Judge Graham Jones ruled that Thomson is liable to compensate customers for psychiatric injuries because the company had not stated the limit of its liability for such injuries in its condition of business.
But Judge Jones also ruled that the passengers could not pursue further action against the carrier, Britannia Airways, because the firm is protected by the 1929 Warsaw Convention on air travel.
The convention states that an airline can only be held responsible for physical and not psychological injury.
Criminal investigation
The 70 passengers will now try to prove in further court cases that Thomson is liable for the psychological injuries they suffered.
Mr Akehurst's fellow passengers, Martin Evans, and Mark Godden, both of Aberystwyth, accepted a settlement of £1,500 two years ago.
The plane crashed after encountering turbulence in the middle of a thunderstorm as the plane approached Gerona.
"The driver aborted one landing and was circling to come down again when we dropped from 1,000 feet to nothing in a split second," said Mr Godden
The plane skidded into a field once it hit the ground and then broke into three pieces.
The Civil Aviation Authority is still investigating what went wrong, but a criminal investigation cleared the pilot of any blame.
