A Ryanair Accident compensation claim against, in relation to an eight-year-old girl who suffered second-degree scald burns when hot chocolate fell on her, has been settled for an approved award of €150,000 at the High Court.
The girl in question, American Sriya Venkata Neti, was travelling on a flight from Rome to Krakow with her parents when the hot liquid and the paper cup slipped over her as she tried to take a drink of the hot chocolate.
Sriya submitted the personal injury compensation action against Ryanair through her father Srinivas Neti in relation to the accident that happened on the Rome to Krakow flight on June 25, 2016.
The court was told that she sustained burns to her thighs and buttocks along with some other scarring. Her father, Srinivas, submitted an affidavit to the court, which said that the scarring has now almost healed completely. He also told the Judge that his daughter has made a good recovery and her injuries have much improved.
Sriya’s legal counsel Mr Hugh Mohan SC advised the judge that the girl sustained serious burns. A medical report handed in to the court said the hot liquid came together on the seat causing extreme burning pain and the child’s mother had to release the child from her safety belt on the seat and her clothing had to be stripped off to stop further burns. Her mother said that daughter’s skin was gone from where the liquid landed on her and blisters formed elsewhere.
After arriving in Krakow the girl was brought to a hospital for further treatment before being transferred to Toronto, Canada where she spent eight days receiving further treatment as an outpatient before she was allowed to return home to California.
in the personal injury action it was claimed that the cabin crew failed to take steps that would have resulted in the burns suffered being worse than they initially would have been. In particular, it was claimed that there was no steps taken to try and cool the burns. Ryanair refuted the allegations that were made in the personal injury action.
Justice Justice Kevin Cross, in approving the Ryanair accident compensation settlement, told the Court that it must have been extremely painful when Sriya was scalded and also said at the young girl has also been left with bad wounds scarring despite making a good recovery so far.