Caribbean Airlines plane crash at CJIA…US Court ruling paves way for injured Guyanese to sue

May 29, 2014 News

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The Eastern District of New York recently issued a significant ruling in personal injury cases against Caribbean Airlines (CAL) arising from the 2011 crash landing of Flight BW 523 in Georgetown, Guyana – a flight that originated at New York’s JFK International Airport.
The plane broke into two.

The plaintiffs, Rajendra Persaud, 64; and Prampatie Persaud, 64; reside in Florida, while Shanti Persaud, 34, and her two minor children, ages 10 and 7, live in Guyana.  They were traveling on tickets between Florida and Georgetown when the crash occurred.
In a question of first impression, the court ruled that the Republic of Guyana is not a party to the Warsaw Convention – a multilateral treaty that governs international air travel – and therefore allowed a personal injury lawsuit against Caribbean Airlines to move forward in the U.S. and paved the way for the plaintiffs to seek damages for emotional pain and suffering, in addition to physical injuries.
The ruling may also impact airlines that fly between Guyana and the United States in that claims of passengers who fly roundtrip from Guyana will not be covered by the Warsaw Convention, which is seen as being protective of airlines over passengers.
The personal injury cases are being handled by the law firm of Colson Hicks Eidson.
Colson Hicks Eidson attorneys, Curtis Miner and Stephanie Casey, filed several lawsuits against CAL on behalf of the plaintiffs who were passengers on Flight BW 523 and suffered personal injuries when the plane overshot the runway and broke in half. The complaint asserts common law negligence claims and claims for damages under the Warsaw Convention.
CAL, in its defense, filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction claiming that Guyana is a party to the Warsaw Convention and that the U.S. was not one of the specified forums in which an action against an air carrier could be brought under the Warsaw Convention. The defendant contended that Guyana is a party to the treaty because the United Kingdom ratified the Warsaw Convention on behalf of its colonies in 1935 when British Guiana –the predecessor to Guyana – was a British colony and that it did not need to take any further action when it became independent.
Pointing to expert opinion testimony and other historical evidence, Miner and Casey successfully argued that Guyana never took formal actions to properly and effectively ratify or accede to the Warsaw Convention following its independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, and the Government of Poland (the depositary nation of the Warsaw Convention), the United States, and the International Civil Aviation Organization do not list Guyana as a “High Contracting Party” to the Warsaw Convention.
The court ultimately sided with the plaintiffs and concluded that the Republic of Guyana is not a party to the Warsaw Convention and the treaty therefore does not govern this case.
“The Warsaw Convention contains caps on the damages that can be recovered, and the Supreme Court has held that the Warsaw Convention bars recovery for purely emotional injuries,” said Miner.
“This ruling is significant as it allows us to move forward with pursuing our claims against the Airline in the United States and seek damages for the plaintiffs who suffered from severe emotional distress as a result of this accident.
“The ruling may also impact airlines that fly between Guyana and the United States in that claims of passengers who fly roundtrip from Guyana will not be covered by the Warsaw Convention, which is seen as being protective of airlines over passengers.”
Eight Guyanese had moved to local courts to seek compensation also.
Last year, Ernest Scott, Abdool Latif, Maylene Persaud, Chelsea Persaud, Crystal Persaud, Shanti Persaud, Rajendra Persaud and Prampatie Persaud were all seeking to be awarded damages.
The passengers would also like the court to award them interest and for Caribbean Airlines to cover the cost of the litigation. All of the passengers who have made the move to the Guyana Court in this latest matter are being represented by Attorneys Sase Gunraj and Jaya Singh.
The flight had crashed through the fence after coming to rest at the edge of the ravine.
Some 163 persons were on board the midnight flight. No one died but several passengers suffered serious injuries. One passenger had his leg amputated during a surgery.
A preliminary report on the crash by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority faulted the pilot for the accident. The investigation reportedly found that the pilot landed the aircraft beyond the designated touchdown spot and was unable to bring it to a controlled speed in time.

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