Disabled man wins legal battle with easyJet after breaking both legs

AIRLINE bosses have been ordered to pay compensation to a disabled man who broke both legs after falling out of a wheelchair at a German airport.

Lord Uist ruled that easyJet should pay damages to paraplegic Colin Mather, 56, over injuries he sustained after travelling from Edinburgh to Hamburg in May 2017.

The Court of Session heard that after the plane landed, Mr Mather was helped by ‘assistance personnel’ from DRK, the German Red Cross’s Mediservice.

In his written judgment, issued on Wednesday, Lord Uist said the wheelchair stopped ‘very abruptly’ and Mr Mather, a consultant from Edinburgh, then ‘landed on his legs’ and sustained ‘compound fractures’ to both legs below his knees. Lawyers for easyJet said the accident was caused by the actions of the DRK representative, and there was no direct contractual connection between easyJet and DRK, meaning its own liability in the case should be limited.

But Lord Uist concluded that easyJet’s liability was unlimited and he continued the case for proceedings on quantum – the sum that should be given to Mr Mather.

EasyJet said ‘the wellbeing of our customers is our highest priority’. Mr Mather declined to comment last night.