A young girl who suffered second degree scald burns when a cup of hot chocolate tipped into her lap on a Ryanair flight has settled her High Court action for €150,000.
American Sriya Venkata Neti was travelling on a Ryanair flight from Rome to Krakow, Poland with her parents, when she took a sip of the hot chocolate but recoiled from the hot liquid and the paper cup fell on top of her.
Her counsel Hugh Mohan SC told the High Court in Dublin the girl suffered significant burns.
A medical report handed into the court said the hot liquid pooled on the seat causing extreme burning pain and the child’s mother had to unbuckle her from the seat and her clothing had to be removed.
Where the liquid had hit, the girl’s mother said her daughter’s skin was gone and blisters were forming in other areas and the child was crying.
Upon landing in Krakow the girl was airlifted to hospital and was then transferred to Toronto, Canada where she spent eight days being treated as an outpatient for her burns before returning home to California.
Sriya Venkata Neti, who is now 11 years old and lives in Freemont, California, had through her father Srinivas Neti sued Ryanair over the accident on the Rome Krakow flight on June 25, 2016.
She had claimed she had been served a hot chocolate at such high temperatures that the liquid could and did cause severe scalding and burns to her and there was an alleged failure to provide a safe method of service of hot beverages in particular hot chocolate suitable for minors.
It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to warn the little girl of the known danger posed by the temperature at which the chocolate was served.
It was also alleged there was a failure to provide any or any adequate assistance to the child and her family post spillage and that after a time it was allegedly requested the little girl be moved to a toilet for treatment so as not to disturb other passengers.
The alleged failure of the cabin crew it was claimed to prove any adequate assistance to the girl or her parents allegedly resulted in the burns suffered being exacerbated.
In particular, it was claimed the alleged failure to provide any or any adequate means of cooling the burns worsened the injuries considerably.
Ryanair denied all the claims.
They agreed to settle the claim without admission of liability.
