Aussie nurse sues AirAsia after stewardess fell on her

A passenger at the AirAsia e-kiosk at the Jakarta international airport. The budget airline, which suffered its first air disaster last month, is being sued by an Australian passenger over an in-flight incident last year. – Reuters pic, January 18, 2015.

An Australian nurse is suing AirAsia over an incident last year in which a stewardess fell on her when the plane hit turbulence during a flight to Thailand.

Australian daily Herald Sun reported that the fall caused 36-year-old Erin Crocker multiple joint franctures and a torn ligament which required major surgery.

It said Crocker had rejected a settlement offer from AirAsia, which her lawyer Nancy Yonan described as "only a minute fraction of the claim’s true value".

AirAsia, which recently suffered its first air disaster after flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore crashed into the Java Sea killing all 162 on board, had also wanted her to agree not to make any further claims, the report added.

Yonan said Crocker initially did not want to take "money away from those victims" by pursuing her legal action, but eventually decided to "fight for her rights".

AirAsia has had trouble in the past with Australian authorities.

In 2012, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), a consumer watchdog, took legal action against the airline for allegedly failing to disclose the full price of fares for flights from Australia.

The Federal Court in Melbourne later imposed a penalty of A$200,000 against the budget airline for contravening the single pricing provision of the Australian Consumer Law.

“Unless the full price is prominently displayed the consumer may well be attracted to a transaction which he or she would not otherwise have found to be appealing and grudgingly pay the additional imposts rather than go to the trouble of withdrawing from the transaction and looking elsewhere,” said judge Richard Tracey in his judgement.

- TMI