In today's society, we are very fortunate that planes are so widely available for all of our traveling needs. Whether it is a business trip for a weekend, or you and your new spouse are flying to the Bahamas for your honeymoon; planes are a necessary form of travel for our busy world. Plane rides may strike anxiety into many people, for fear that if they are to board the plane it may plummet and crash thousands of feet; killing everyone on board. What many people don't tend to realize though is that there are actually more of a chance for injuries on the plane itself during the flight as opposed to having your entire plane crash land.
In flight injuries are often caused as a result of turbulence and can lead to both minor and severe injuries on the plane; even fatal injuries at times. For example, the turbulence may cause baggage from the overhead storage to come loose and can severely harm people depending on the weight of the bag, slip and fall injuries are common as well when people are getting up and walking to use the facilities during a time of turbulence. Depending on the situation at hand, and the specific injury you may have the option of filing a personal injury claim against either their airlines, its employees, perhaps against the manufactures that created the plane who are then responsible for a malfunction, etc.
According to statistics, annually there are an estimated 4,500 luggage accidents on the planes that result in the bin not being able to carry it overhead. These passengers may receive a minor bump, or perhaps even a concussion, depending on the weight and type of luggage that fell. Another common cause of in-flight injuries is the food carts that the stewardesses roll back and forth down the aisles. These injuries can range in severity for example it could be something as simple as a broken toe after the cart rolls over them all the way to being knocked over when the stewardess is unable to hold it in place. All of these accidents can happen without the presence of turbulence, though the heavy winds can make these incidents far more likely.
Turbulence is known for making these incidents happen most frequently, because as the plane is shaken around it is more likely that someone will trip and fall, a cart will roll away or the luggage will get knocked from the overhead bin and hit someone. When the turbulence becomes even more severe people can actually be thrown from their seats because of the impact, which is why the seatbelt mandatory signs are so important on a flight. According to statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration, there are at least 58 injuries per year caused by not wearing seatbelts during turbulence on the plane.
Depending on your situation you may be able to file a personal injury claim based on negligence of either the aviation company as a whole or against the specific flight employees from your trip. Negligence, in essence, is considered to be the careless or irresponsible acts of another individual, and if this is demonstrated by either the pilot, the staff, maintenance workers, etc. then it is likely your claim against them will be specifically for negligence. In some cases it will be specifically the driver's error. Perhaps they were drowsy while flying, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or otherwise distracted; you could file a claim trying to prove that your injury was a result of their carelessness.
In some cases, the injuries have nothing to do with the staff at all, but rather are directly related to equipment defects. Defective equipment on a plane could include faulty steering, lighting problems which affect their ability to land the plane properly, transmission failures, tire blowouts during landing that are caused by too much wear and tear, and more. It is the responsibility of the plane owners and maintenance crews to ensure that all aspects of the plane are in fully working order before the flight takes off; therefore if you are injured as a result of a malfunction you may have a claim.
In the event that you or someone you know has received a minor or a severe injury while traveling on a plane, contact a personal injury attorney in your area to discuss whether you have enough to file a claim. You may be able to seek compensation for your pain and suffering caused by the accident as well as coverage to help pay for the subsequent medical bills and lost wages from time off of work.