NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has summoned Vistara Airlines in a plea filed by the parents of a minor girl seeking damages of nearly Rs. 2.7 crore after she sustained second-degree burns due to the spillage of a hot beverage on board a flight from Delhi to Frankfurt.The plaintiff’s family is seeking damages for bodily injuries, medical expenses incurred in Frankfurt and other relief related to the incident which occurred in August last year.Asking Vistara to file a response within a month to the suit moved by the family of the minor who had claimed damages of Rs. 2,68,93,077 from the airline for the alleged negligence, the bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani posted the matter for March 6.The high court also asked Vistara to respond within two weeks to an application with the suit seeking ad-interim relief against the defendant, Tata Sia Airlines Limited, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines operating under the flagship brand name Vistara.As per the plea, the parents said the girl sustained grave second-degree burns on her thighs and adjoining areas due to the negligence of an air hostess who was in a hurry and spilled the hot chocolate ordered by the child along with another extremely hot beverage.In their plea, the family rubbished Vistara’s claim that the incident was due to the child’s “playful” behavior instead of taking responsibility for it.The suit contended that the airline authorities made no contact with the family for more than 30 hours after they deplaned as they struggled to make necessary arrangements for their child’s urgent medical treatment in a foreign country.”In fact, Vistara made no contact whatsoever with the family for more than 30 hours after the child and her mother deboarded from the flight. As a result, the child’s parents were constrained to navigate the medical system, arrange for accommodation and make all such other necessary arrangements for their child’s urgent medical treatment in a foreign country, all by themselves. The only time Vistara finally reached out to the family was after Mrs. Gupta was constrained to share details of the incident on her Twitter account, which finally drew the airline’s attention to the incident, but even thereafter, no material assistance or help was extended by the airline to the family while they were in Frankfurt,” said the suit.
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