EU court finds grounds for airline damages in spilled coffee

The EU's highest court ruled Thursday that an airline can be held liable if a passenger is burned by hot coffee even if turbulence or other flight-related factor didn't cause the spill. The European Court of Justice said such injuries don't have to be linked to issues typically associated with air travel to provide grounds for a passenger to seek damages. The advisory ruling came in an Austrian case seeking financial compensation for a girl who had her father's coffee spilled on her during a flight. Insolvent airline Niki claimed that such mishaps needed to be linked to the flying of a plane for airlines to be held responsible. The EU court said that “it is not necessary for that accident to relate to a hazard typically associated with flight." The outcome of the girl's claim will be decided by an Austrian court. <br/>