Ryanair passenger wins £4,350 payout after 'flimsy' tray table caused injury

Ryanair passenger wins £4,350 payout after 'flimsy' tray table caused injury 63-year-old nurse Denise Elliott suffered serious burns after placing a cup of coffee that didn't have a lid on a 'flimsy' Ryanair tray, in an incident she says left her 'lost for words' A nurse who suffered serious burns during a Ryanair flight has now been awarded an £4,350 out-of-court settlement, in what she's termed "an absolute shocker". Denise Elliott, 63, had been flying with friends to Majorca from Bournemouth when she was given a coffee cup without a protective lid, with the steward informing her they'd run out. According to Denise, from Southsea, near Portsmouth, she then placed the cup on the tray table, which she has blasted "as clearly not fit for purpose". It comes as lawyers are seeing a spike in holidaymakers suffering these sort of injuries due to sloping tray tables on planes. The holidaymaker said: "Ryanair said that I lied about there being no lids, but that’s just not true as other people heard him say that. I don’t know what happened after that as, the next thing I knew, the coffee was all over my thighs. I didn’t knock it; otherwise, it would have gone sideways and not into my lap. Those flimsy trays on Ryanair planes are clearly not fit for purpose, but I also think those little grooves that keep your cups in are more dangerous than helpful." Holiday disrupted before she and pals so much as touched down in sunny Spain, medical professional Denise claims she was even forced to perform first aid on herself, and has criticised attempts made by staff to treat her injuries. READ MORE: Underrated European city that's walkable and without crowds is perfect for winter escape Denise shared: "I assumed the stewards on the plane were first-aid-trained, but that was not the case. I put my dress over my lap to help, but I needed something absorbent covered in cold water so I could douse the temperature out of it (the burns). I asked them for a towel, or something like that, but they said they didn’t have anything on board like that, so I had to do my own first aid. When they did bring something, they first brought me some dry paper towels, and I was lost for words. "After that, they came back with some wipes, but it turned out they were surface wipes, which, of course, contain alcohol. Eventually, somebody came up with a bottle of burn gel. We asked to keep it for a second application, but the steward said that wasn’t possible, and it had to go back into the first-aid kit. It was an absolute shocker.” Denise’s flight injury claim, made under the Montreal Convention, which governs international air travel, was taken up by Hudgell Solicitors, specialists in overseas accidents. From the outset, Ryanair denied liability and ended up agreeing to a £4,350 settlement shortly before going to trial. According to Denise: "I didn’t want to make a...

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