A passenger who slipped on a puddle of liquor as he rushed to catch his flight could receive up to $5 million in compensation, according to multiple reports.
Swiss businessman Andreas Wuchner was awarded $167,000 for his injuries in 2021, but since then he’s increased his claim from British Airways to $6.4 million, according to The Telegraph,
Wuchner’s lawyers say he’s had repeated and lengthy headaches as well as other health effects that caused the breakdown of his business, the outlet reported.
Wuchner told a court in London that he flew six feet in the air after slipping on a puddle of Bailey’s liquor at London’s Heathrow Airport in 2017, The Guardian reported on Monday.
Having missed an earlier flight, he and his business partner were heading to a replacement flight and were rushing to the gate when Wuchner decided to stop at a Starbucks to pick up two espressos and two macchiatos, the paper reported.
Asked in court why he took the time to do this, he reportedly said that he preferred “a proper coffee out of a coffee machine.”
Wuchner said he was “walking swiftly” to get to the boarding gate as quickly as possible, but not running, “bearing in mind I had four coffees in my hand,” per The Guardian.
He then slipped on the unmarked liquor spillage, hitting his head hard on the floor.
After the initial decision in 2017, Wuchner was awarded the maximum amount — around $167,000 — allowed under the Montreal Convention, which governs the compensation passengers can get for accidents that take place when getting international flights.
However, the judge left a window open for Wuchner to potentially claim more in the future, The Independent reported at the time.
This hinged on whether BA was responsible for not cleaning up the spillage sooner, Wuchner’s lawyer was reported as saying.
According to legal practice Deka Chambers, the airline had called for a cleaner to come to deal with the spillage, but time had passed without airline staff attempting to clean it up.
British Airways’ lawyer, Tom Bird, argued in a pre-trial hearing this week that Wuchner’s rushing to the gate with the four coffees was the cause of the accident, The Guardian reported.
But Judge David Saunders found that British Airways was largely liable for the accident.
Even so, Wuchner had “contributory negligence” in cutting it so fine, Saunders said, according to The Guardian.
This means he is potentially eligible for 80% of his $6.4 million claim, or about $5 million, the outlet reported.
BA did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
