BA has been refused permission to appeal against a ruling awarding a flight steward £13,000 in damages after being bitten by a spider during a long-haul flight.
Terry O’Driscoll feared losing his hand after being bitten on the left forefinger while in the crew rest area during a flight from Heathrow to the US.
The source of the bite in May 2013 was never definitely identified, although an expert said that the brown recluse spider, which is native to the US and has strong venom, was the likely culprit, The Times reported.
A judge at Central London county court awarded damages to the long-serving cabin crew member, criticising BA’s “insufficient” action over the incident.
The airline had “poor reporting systems” in place and failed to prevent the menace of insects and spiders in the bunk area, she said.
The court was told that O’Driscoll, 50, was leaving his bunk on board a BA flight to Denver, Colorado, when he “felt a nip”. He did not mention the incident at the time and only became alarmed several days later when his finger became increasingly sore.
“It was so small, just a tiny little thing,” he said. “It just looked like a normal little insect bite. I got bitten in the bunks quite regularly. It wasn’t that unusual an occurrence.”
However, O’Driscoll started to panic when his hand became hugely swollen and he went to a hospital near his home in Cork.
“I got to the hospital and they were talking about trying to save my hand,” he said. “It was pretty scary stuff and I was petrified.”
The bite had “catastrophic consequences” that one medical expert labelled “life and limb-threatening”, the court was told.
Intensive treatment fought off the infection and Mr O’Driscoll’s hand was saved. He claimed damages from BA for failing to keep safe his place of work.
BA denied all fault, suggesting that O’Driscoll could have been bitten anywhere. If he was bitten while at work, it was “an unexpected accident which could not have been foreseen”, the airline argued.
The court was told that international flights were “vulnerable” to infestation, with bugs being carried aboard by passengers and crew.
Judge Susan Jackson said that BA’s action to prevent infestations had largely focused on attacking bed bugs that tended to nestle in aircraft seats. The airline’s pest control experts viewed this as “the most prevalent hazard”, she said.
“I accept that he was bitten in the cabin crew rest area as he has described,” the judge said. She said that the airline took a “reactive approach” to creatures other than bed bugs, adding:
“It seems to me Mr O’Driscoll is correct in saying this is a case in which he was bitten as a result of these failures.”
BA argued that it was unclear what further preventive steps it could have taken but was refused permission to appeal against the ruling.
The airline said afterwards: “The health and welfare of our staff is hugely important to us and we always ensure our crew are able to rest in a safe and clean environment.
“We regularly check our aircraft as part of a scheduled programme and we’re pleased that there were no other reports of this nature in relation to this aircraft.”