Can You Sue If You Were Hit By Overhead Luggage on an Airplane?
All seats on an airplane are located under overhead bins that are meant as storage for carry-on luggage. As riders board a plane, they can choose to put their luggage in the overhead bins, and then before the flight takes off, all of these lockers have their doors closed. Still, it is possible that during flight, items in the bins could shift. If items fall out of the overhead bins and hit someone on the flight, determining liability could come down to how the incident happened.
If you were harmed on a flight because overhead luggage struck you, then the South Jersey personal injury attorney at Monaco Law PC may be able to help. You could be owed financial compensation for the harm you endured and the losses you suffered.
What to do After Being Struck By Overhead Luggage on an Airplane
There is a good reason why flight attendants inform passengers about being careful when opening the overhead luggage storage. That is because an airplane flying through the sky is not going to always be smooth sailing and as a result, turbulence and other factors during a trip can cause luggage to move.
Even though being hit by luggage may be the last thing on your mind when you are boarding a plane, the reality is this type of thing happens more often than one would think. There are thousands of passengers who are injured by falling luggage every year. When you consider that a particular piece of luggage could be equipped with hard plastic and metal and stuffed to the brim, weighing 30 and 40 pounds, if it flies out of the storage bin and hits you, it is going to leave a mark.
Your head, arms, and shoulders can all be injured by the impact of falling luggage. When a bin is overcrowded, the pressure inside can cause the door to unlatch, and luggage can come falling out unexpectedly. Or, luggage may not be properly organized in an overhead bin, making it more prone to move around during a flight, which makes anyone opening the bin at increased risk of luggage sliding out and hitting them.
After you are harmed by falling luggage, you may be able to secure some amount of compensation from the airliner for your harm. Although, this is typically not an easy process.
Determining which court is appropriate for your claim to be filed or if there are international laws to consider are some of the complicated factors that exist when taking legal action. This is why it is imperative that if you are harmed by loose luggage on a flight, you speak with an attorney who knows the laws and the procedure for moving forward with a claim.
Speak to an Airline Injury Attorney Today
For more information on the claims process, please reach out to our South Jersey airline injury attorney at Monaco Law PC. To schedule a free initial consultation, call (609) 277-3166 for our New Jersey office and (215) 546-3166 for our office in Pennsylvania.
We are a New Jersey and Pennsylvania wrongful death and injury law firm serving Atlantic County, Burlington County, Bucks County, Cape May County, Camden County, Chester County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Lancaster County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Montgomery County, Ocean County, and Salem County. Ou firm can handle cases throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
