A COMPANY boss has landed a £130,000 payout after slipping head-over-heels on a pool of Baileys Cream Liqueur at Heathrow Airport.
Andreas Wuchner banged his head and suffered brain damage after skidding on the booze spilled by a passenger near a British Airways check-in desk.
His office supplies business folded 12 months later and he took BA to court, suing over his injuries and for loss of earnings.
And Judge Simon Monty QC has now awarded him £130,000 – and opened the door for him to claim an even larger sum.
Central London County Court heard Swiss national Mr Wuchner – aged in his 40s – had been at the airport to catch a BA jet to Zurich in November 2017.
Natasha Jackson, for Mr Wuchner, told the judge: "This was a slip on a spilt bottle of Bailey's liqueur, but unfortunately he does seem to have suffered some traumatic brain injury as a result.
“The claim is admitted.”
She added after the hearing: “The liquid turned out to be Bailey’s liqueur that hadn't been cleared up.”
Mr Wuchner is entitled to £130,000 under a "strict liability" clause of the Montreal Convention, which governs payouts for injuries suffered by international passengers.
Airlines are liable to pay compo for accidents on embarkation – and BA may now face a bigger bill if its staff are found to be negligent.
Mr Wuchner had been running his company but that was "liquidated" in September 2018, ten months after the accident.
The boss now wants to call an orthopaedic surgeon, a neurologist and a pain management expert to give evidence about the impact of the accident on his life.
Christopher Loxton, for BA, agreed Mr Wuchner should get the £130,000 payout, telling the judge: "I am happy for judgment to be entered for the claimant with damages to be assessed."
But the airline is arguing that there was no negligence on the part of their staff and that he should not get more.
A trial will go ahead at a later date over whether he is due a bigger payout.
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