Repetitive Strain Injury success
One of the advantages of travelling First Class on Virgin Atlantic is that passengers can make use of the airline’s Terminal 3 Clubhouse at Heathrow Airport. I’ve never been fortunate enough to personally experience the delights of Virgin’s First Class Service but amongst the facilities on offer at the Clubhouse is the provision of Shiatsu massage treatments.
These treatments are provided to travellers by a number of beauty therapists, two of whom developed a repetitive strain injury (or RSI, as lawyers call this type of injury). The therapists said that the RSI arose as a result of carrying out these massages.
The therapists therefore brought a personal injury claim against the airline. It was their case that, as most of these massages were carried out on men who were clothed at the time, this put additional pressure on their thumb joints. However the pain they experienced was not only in the thumbs but also radiated to their wrists, shoulders, and back. As a consequence they were unable to continue with their chosen careers, despite Virgin restricting the number of massages they could give per hour and providing additional breaks.
Virgin Atlantic admitted liability for the injuries, but the level of compensation could not be agreed between the solicitors. The case therefore went to trial and the High Court in London awarded the two women compensation totalling £300,000. The award of damages was not split equally between the two women as the court had to take into account various individual factors, such as the level of ongoing symptoms, their intrusiveness and the claimants’ future employment prospects.
