Mr and Mrs Holland were injured in a plane crash whilst on a safari holiday in Tanzania to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary. The Cessna aircraft they were travelling in had to make an emergency landing after suffering engine failure. The plane crashed on landing injuring several passengers. Mr Holland suffered back and leg injuries and broken bones while Mrs Holland fractured her left ankle and suffered damage to her spinal cord and is now paralysed.
A compensation claim was brought against three Defendants including the Tour Operator that arranged the package holiday, Okavango Explorations (UK) Limited trading as Hartley’s Safaris, as well as Regional Air Services Limited, the carrier and AirKenya Aviation Limited, the company that was responsible for the maintenance of the engine that failed.
Clive Garner, one of our specialist Travel Litigation lawyers who represented Mr and Mrs Holland, commented: "After a tough legal battle I am delighted that settlement was agreed with all three Defendants.
"Mr and Mrs Holland have already moved to a suitable bungalow that will meet their immediate and long term housing needs. If the Montreal Convention for International Carriage by Air had applied to their claims they would have recovered a significantly higher level of damages. The safety of air travel in parts of Africa has been the subject of considerable concern following the loss of a number of aircraft.
"With such concerns about air safety it is crucial that passengers are compensated appropriately when things go wrong and it is hoped that the protection offered by the Montreal Convention is extended to all air travel throughout Africa and indeed to all countries which have not yet ratified it."
Mr Holland (injured in plane crash) said: "I am very pleased to see the end of this complicated court case. Kathleen and I have been worried about the life changing injuries that we sustained and how we would be able to manage without employment in the future. The damages that we have recovered have gone some way to resolving our concerns and with our recent move to a new and suitable property, we are now confident that we will manage in the future."
Compensation amounting to £340,000 was successfully negotiated in an out of court settlement.
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