A teenager from Southeastern Australia who suffered burns to his genitals when a coffee was spilt on an international flight is suing Virgin Australia.
Rhett Butler, 16, suffered burns, blisters and scarring to his thighs, groin, genitals and midriff when a cup of coffee served by a member of the cabin crew slipped from a tray table into his lap on during a flight in May last year, according to a lawsuit filed in the County Court of Victoria.
The incident occurred soon after takeoff on Sydney-bound flight from Los Angeles International Airport.
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Butler's father, Brian Butler, had to provide medical assistance for the rest of the journey in the “absence” of help from the crew, the claim states.
The tray table did not have a recess to hold a cup securely and was defective, tilting downwards towards the teen, the family claims.
Teen sues Virgin Australia over burns to genitals caused by spilt coffee https://t.co/oYkVMVnzcF
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Virgin Australia confirmed the incident on Monday, saying “an incident did occur on flight VA2 from Los Angeles to Sydney on 3 May 2015."
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But a spokeswoman for the airline said it would not provide any further details on the pending suit.
“Virgin Australia takes the safety and comfort of our passengers extremely seriously, however given this particular matter has not yet been resolved it would not be appropriate to comment any further,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.
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