Associated Press, May 28, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider whether a Greece-based airline should be held responsible for the death of an asthmatic passenger who was seated near the smoking section.

Dr. Abid Hanson, 52, suffered an asthma attack on a flight from Athens, Greece, to New York in January 1998, after being exposed to secondhand smoke. This spring the Supreme Court blocked his family from collecting $1.4 million from Olympic Airways, to give justices time to consider reviewing the airline's appeal.

Lawyers for Olympic asked the court to clarify when air carriers can be blamed for passenger illnesses. A flight attendant repeatedly rejected Hanson's family's requests to move him to a different seat, and a lower court ruled the carrier was liable under international treaties demanding compensation for those injured or killed during an "accident."

Olympic Airways attorney Andrew Harakas of New York said the case is important because of increasing lawsuits by stricken passengers, including people who suffer heart attacks.

Hanson, 52, had complained about being seated near the smoking section, which was not separated by a partition.

A flight attendant said the flight was full and that he could not be moved. But attorneys for his family told justices in a filing that there were 11 empty seats and 17 non-smoking seats assigned to airline employees and relatives who were flying for free.

The case is Olympic Airways v. Husain, 02-1348.

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