Man sues Etihad in Qld over fat passenger

Man sues Etihad in Qld over fat passenger
By Hannah Edensor


A man is suing an airline, claiming he got a back injury after being forced to sit next to an obese man who coughed a lot.

James Andres Bassos has taken Etihad Airways to court in Queensland saying he was forced to twist and contort his body for long periods on a 2011 flight from Sydney to Dubai.

Mr Bassos’ District Court claim states the “grossly overweight” passenger was spilling into his seat, was coughing frequently and had fluid coming from his mouth.

After five hours he asked to be moved but airline staff allegedly refused.

Half an hour later Mr Bassos complained again and he was moved to a crew seat.

However, he had to return to his seat next to the fat man later for another hour, and again for the final 90 minutes of the flight for security reasons, according to court documents.

Mr Bassos is claiming damages for personal injuries, saying that being forced to twist his body for such a long time to avoid contact with the other passenger gave him a back injury and exacerbated an existing back condition.

Etihad tried to have the claim thrown out and argued it was not unusual to have overweight passengers taking up too much space, or coughing passengers.

However Brisbane District Court Judge Fleur Kingham refused to strike out the claim on Wednesday.

In published reasons, Judge Kingham said she wasn’t convinced Mr Bassos had no chance of winning.

She ordered him to undergo a medical exam in Brisbane in December.

But Etihad Airways has vowed to keep fighting court action brought by a man who’s suing the airline for health problems he says he developed after sitting next to a sick, obese passenger.

“Etihad Airways will continue to oppose the action and now that Mr Bassos will finally face a medical assessment in December 2015, as directed by court, we believe that the matter will proceed to an early conclusion,” an Etihad Airways spokeswoman said.

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