Air Link Pty Ltd v Paterson

Air Link Pty Ltd appealed to the Full Federal Court against a judgment of a single judge awarding damages to Mr Paterson for personal injury sustained while disembarking from a small aeroplane operated by Air Link. The dispute concerned the statutory liability of Air Link as a carrier for the injury suffered by Mr Paterson, which arose from an incident during the carriage by air.

The primary legal issue before the Full Federal Court was whether Mr Paterson's injury was caused by an "accident" within the meaning of s 28 of the *Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959* (Cth). This required the court to consider the construction of the term "accident" in light of the Warsaw Convention, specifically Article 17, and its subsequent protocols, which form the international source of the statutory provisions. The court also had to determine whether the trial judge had erred in assessing damages, particularly concerning the aggravation of a pre-existing knee injury and the award for pure economic loss.

The Full Federal Court, comprising Allsop P, Ipp JA, and Sackville AJA, reasoned that an "accident" under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention, and by extension s 28 of the Act, requires an unusual, unexpected, and external event. The court affirmed that the onus of proof for such an event can be discharged even if the precise character and details of the external event are not fully proven. Regarding damages, the court found that the trial judge's assessment, including the consideration of expert evidence and the rule in *Watts v Rake*, was open to her on the evidence presented, and that the evidence was capable of supporting the finding of loss of economic capacity.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.