A court has dismissed an appeal against a ruling requiring Cathay Pacific to pay a former flight attendant nearly $800,000 after a drawer from a drinks trolley injured her leg.
The Court of Appeal stated in its ruling yesterday that the airline was liable because it had failed to provide safe equipment to its flight attendants.
Wong Sau-lai filed her lawsuit against Cathay Pacific two years ago, after her right knee was hit by a trolley drawer weighing 13.5kg.
The accident, which Ms Wong claimed had forced her to leave her 'dream career', occurred in November 2000, when the plaintiff was working on a flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo.
Ms Wong said the drawer hit her knee as she was squatting next to the trolley while attempting to remove a bottle.
When she reached for a bottle at the back of the trolley's middle drawer, it became unstable and fell onto her right knee.