High court writs were issued today against two major airlines over alleged cases of air travel-related deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The launch of test cases against Virgin Airlines and British Airways was likely to lead to "group litigation", or a class action, against many airlines, according to Collins Solicitors, who are acting for more than 150 alleged victims of the condition which has been termed 'economy class syndrome'. The firm is expert in transport litigation, and recently represented victims of the Southall and Ladbroke Grove train disasters
Carriers could face a compensation bill of more than £10m for allegedly failing to warn British travellers about the dangers of DVT, which can cause potentially lethal blood clots. It is believed to be most likely to affect passengers who are forced to sit in cramped conditions for long hours without exercise. Collins will issue writs on behalf of Lyn Walcott, from Essex, whose husband Nigel died in October 2000 following a BA flight from Barbados to Gatwick, and Peter Wilson of Hertfordshire, who developed DVT following a Virgin flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow in October 1998.
Senior partner Des Collins said: "Immediately following issue and service of proceedings in these test cases, we will ask the court to put in place a group litigation order so that all legal issues surrounding air travel and DVT can be resolved. Untold numbers of people have seen their lives ruined as a result of this problem. We have to resolve it as soon as possible."
A BA spokeswoman said: "We have only received pre-action correspondence from Collins Solicitors at this stage - we have not received a formal claim. Until we have received it, we won't be commenting specifically on that. We would like to reassure the travelling public that BA takes the health and safety of its passengers extremely seriously.
"We have provided our passengers with travel health information for many years, in the form of an on board exercise video, exercises demonstrated in our in-flight magazine, a healthy journey information leaflet, and information on our website and over the phone.
"The fact is that there is no conclusive evidence to link DVT with flying, although we know that it is linked with long periods of immobility, which can be on a train or any other form of transport. But we are keen to learn more about DVT and whether there is anything about the cabin environment which may be a factor."
A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic Airways said: "We haven't seen details of the case and until we do we can't comment."
