{
  "id": 19658446,
  "title": "British Airways sued £50,000 by US passenger after falling on ‘damp’ plane steps",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/british-airways-sued-50-000-by-us-passenger-after-falling-on-damp",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-12T14:06:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/british-airways-sued-50000-by-us-passenger-after-falling-on-damp-plane-steps/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Melissa Phillips, an American passenger, is suing British Airways for over £50,000 after she fell and fractured her leg while disembarking a plane at Heathrow Airport in March 2023. According to the documents filed in the High Court, Phillips suffered fractures in her left fibula and tibia due to falling down the plane steps. Her lawyers allege that the airline's \"negligence\" led to her injuries, as the disembarking of passengers from the Israel flight at Heathrow was described as \"chaotic,\" causing Phillips to lose her balance. Katherine Deal KC, representing Phillips, stated that there was \"minimal crowd control or direction\" from the airline's cabin crew as the passengers descended the \"damp\" steps from the plane. British Airways, on the other hand, claims that Phillips \"lost her footing\" while descending the steps and offered to pay her £6,987 for medical expenses. The airline's barrister, Christopher Loxton, argued that the fall was likely caused by Phillips simply losing her footing while paying insufficient attention to the way she was descending the steps. The case is yet to go to a hearing, and British Airways has not yet commented on the allegation.",
  "summary": "British Airways is being sued by an American passenger for more than £50,000 after she fell and fractured her leg while disembarking a plane at Heathrow. According to documents filed in the High Court, Melissa Phillips, who was travelling back to Maryland in the US, where she lives, from Israel via Heathrow, suffered fractures in [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "American passenger Melissa Phillips sues British Airways for £50,000",
    "Falls and fractures left leg while disembarking damp plane steps",
    "British Airways claims passenger lost footing, offers £6,987 compensation"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}