Fed: DVT actions could encompass train, coach trips: lawyer=2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2000
Fed: DVT actions could encompass train, coach trips: lawyer=2

Mr Posa said the Perth law firm received "far more calls than we thought we would"

after advertising yesterday for potential DVT litigants.

"We think those calls are the tip of the iceberg. We'll continue to advertise for a
little while and then we'll assess the cases," he said.

West Australians potentially would comprise a large number of future claimants because
its remoteness implied that travel had to be over longer distances "and it seems as if
the distance travelled is a direct factor in the possibility in DVT".

"A Lancet medical journal study in February 1999 mentioned that travel by car, plane
or train of more than five hours can lead to a fourfold increase in the risk of DVT,"

Mr Posa said.

"Once we're dealing with coach and train travel included, we're dealing with a significant
problem."

Slater and Gordon said on Monday it was representing 10 to 15 people affected by the
potentially-fatal DVT, caused by sitting for long periods in cramped conditions.

The firm - currently targeting airlines including Qantas, British Airways, Air France,
Emirates and Air New Zealand - said each claim (if won) could be worth up to $60,000.

Great Southern Railways, operator of the Indian Pacific, said contracting DVT from
upmarket-train travel was highly unlikely, considering the roomy business-class style
seats and the fact passengers could readily move around.

"Saying you can get DVT (from train travel) is about as likely as saying you could
get it from walking to a suburban shopping centre," chief executive officer Steve Bradford
said.

"There's no reported cases I've heard of anywhere in the world."

AAP sd/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: SYNDROME 2 PERTH

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