BA could pay up to £4m compensation to man who slipped in Baileys puddle

British Airways may have to pay up to £4 million in compensation to a passenger who suffered from a brain injury after slipping in a puddle of Baileys while running for a flight.

Andreas Wuchner, then 35, a businessman who ran an office supplies company, had spent a day at Wembley Stadium, in London, in Nov 2017 and was due to fly from Heathrow to Zurich when the accident in which he suffered a “traumatic brain injury” occurred.

Mr Wuchne, from Switzerland, and his business partner were forced to rebook their flights after missing the previous plane because of traffic en route to the airport.

Having then been stuck in long security queues at the airport, the pair were also last to the boarding gate for their new flight.

But despite being short for time and potentially missing a second plane, Mr Wuchner stopped at Starbucks to buy two espressos and two latte macchiatos.

‘I was walking swiftly’

He was balancing four coffees on a tray and rushing to the gate with just 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time when he slipped on the alcohol in the airport terminal, a court heard.

When asked why he decided to get coffee so close to departure, he told Central London County Court: “I really enjoy a proper coffee out of a coffee machine, rather than the normal airport coffee, which is why I went to Starbucks.

“I went as quickly as possible to the boarding gate, bearing in mind I had four coffees in my hand.

“I wasn’t running, but I went as quickly as I could. I was walking swiftly, bearing in mind the safety of my coffee cups.”

Mr Wuchner claimed he flipped two metres in the air after slipping on the liquid, sending the coffee cups flying and hitting his head on the floor.

He continued: “I was told I went two metres in the air, that’s what was said to me. I was told that I did a backwards jump and did two metres in the air.”

According to a witness statement, Mr Wuchner said he suffered from repeated headaches “which can last continuously for up to two weeks” following the incident.

‘BA could have cordoned off spillage’

Judge David Saunders found that BA was liable for the accident but said that Mr Wuchner would receive 80 per cent of the value of his £5 million claim, once assessed, due to his “contributory negligence”.

The judge found the accident could have been avoided if BA staff had taken care to cover or cordon off the spillage, or to warn passengers it was there.

Tom Bird, the BA barrister, said that it was Mr Wuchner rushing to the boarding gate with four coffees which had caused the incident.

Mr Bird argued that BA should be exonerated from liability for the accident because Mr Wuchner was at fault.

However it was ruled that if airline staff had done more to prevent a slip by covering up the puddle, cordoning it off or by warning passengers, he probably would not have been hurt at all.

Giving judgment, Judge Saunders said both Mr Wuchner, due to his desire for proper coffee rather than drinks served on the plane, and the airline were at fault.

Judge Saunders said: “It seems inevitable that, through his delay and attempt to obtain last–minute coffees, the claimant had placed himself under greater pressure to board the flight in time, having missed his earlier flight, and been delayed in security.

“It is a likely scenario that he was anxious to catch his flight, and that the pressure he had imposed upon himself had made that pressure even greater. That, in my view, contributed to the accident.”

Value of payout to be decided later

But finding BA mostly to blame, he continued: “I do find it unusual that no immediate steps were taken by anyone from BA to prevent an accident.

“Nothing appears to have been placed over the spillage to cover it up. That may have been simply because nothing was available, but it is surprising that this situation could not have been dealt with, at least temporarily, until all the passengers had boarded.”

The court heard that BA contested Mr Wuchner’s £5 million valuation of his claim, denying that the injuries he sustained ruined his business and left him unable to work.

The value of his payout will be decided at another trial at a later date unless agreed.

At an earlier hearing held in 2021 Natasha Jackson, for Mr Wuchner, said: “This was a slip on a spilt bottle of Baileys liqueur, but unfortunately he does seem to have suffered some traumatic brain injury as a result.”