The Heathrow company warned about safety before the worker was sucked into the baggage machine

A baggage handling company at Heathrow knew months before one of its employees was sucked into one of their conveyor belts, leaving her in a vegetative state.

Menzies Aviation privately discussed installing sensors on its aircraft after an employee trapped his hand and arm at Gatwick Airport in July 2022.

However, the change had not been implemented until February 2024, when 52-year-old mother-of-two Jasbir Sahota was dragged into the same ramp at Heathrow, suffering devastating brain and spinal injuries.

The chain of events came to light at a Supreme Court hearing this week, where Ms Sahota’s family is fighting with Menzies for urgent help with the victim’s treatment costs, which will run into the millions if she survives in the long term.

Court documents alleged that there had been a number of security incidents related to the use of the baggage machines.

Ms. Sahota’s lawyers alleged that the global carrier delayed the proceedings by failing to disclose key evidence related to the earlier security incident and subsequent investigations.

The omission was apparently criticized by the judge, Ms Justice Yip, who said: “I find it almost impossible to understand the approach of the defendant and his lawyers.”

Treated “like a number”.

Without significant additional resources, Ms. Sahota faces being transferred to a nursing home without immediate access to urgent medical care.

However, her family wants their loved one to be transferred to the private Wellington Hospital instead, where they say she has a better chance of survival and a chance at some rehabilitation.

They have previously accused Menzies of “letting them down” since the accident and are now demanding an interim payment of £500,000 from the company.

Ms. Sahota’s two children, Nina Haer and Harman Sahota, have described the company treating their mother “like a number and not a valued employee.”

Menzies denied liability for the accident and said Ms Sahota should not have been near the ramp and should not have been wearing a scarf, which ultimately dragged her into the machine.

At the time of the accident she was a dispatcher and had worked at Heathrow since she was 22.

Her primary role was to turn aircraft around efficiently by overseeing the safe loading and unloading of baggage.

chain of correspondence

With cargo handling, ground operations and passenger services on aircraft around the world, Menzies’ global revenue rose 10.7 percent to £1.68 billion last year.

After the Gatwick incident in 2022, the company began correspondence with the manufacturer of conveyor belts about how they could be made safer.

This included retrofitting a sensor to the system that detects foreign objects and automatically switches off the machine, an intervention estimated to have cost less than £167 per unit.

According to court documents, Phil Lloyd, senior vice president at Menzies, was instrumental in these discussions.

After the accident, he also took the lead in contacting the Sahota family.

Nevertheless, they were not informed about the accident history of the machines and the attempts to fix them.

No mention of the Gatwick incident

“It is very surprising that neither the defendant’s senior executive, Mr Phil Lloyd, mentioned the Gatwick incident to the plaintiff’s family nor to the plaintiff’s lawyers by any member of the defendant’s legal team,” the documents say .

They add: “Mr Lloyd himself was involved in the correspondence regarding the installation of a sensor.”

Keoghs, Menzies’ lawyer, denied any failure to disclose the correct evidence and said his task was hampered by the timing and conditions imposed.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation into the Gatwick incident found that no laws were broken in the design or maintenance of the machines.

Ms. Sahota’s doctors have ordered not to resuscitate her and recommended that she not be transferred to the intensive care unit if her condition worsens due to the severity of her condition.

However, the family believes she was not properly assessed and is unable to respond to stimuli and track movements.

Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel, KC, representing Ms Sahota, said at a Supreme Court hearing: “She has survived many infections. The family believes she is doing better.

“The longer she survives, the more positive the prognosis will be.”

“In a precarious state”

Jill Greenfield, who is leading the litigation at Fieldfisher’s lawyers, said: “We have been committed to ensuring that Jasbir’s case is heard in court as quickly as possible as there have been unnecessary delays in establishing the facts surrounding the circumstances of this accident Her life is now in a precarious state.

“Time is of the essence for Jasbir to receive specialist neuro treatment, not least because her current hospital has set a cap on care above which she can no longer be treated.”

The trial is expected to take place in May next year.

Menzies previously said: “An active investigation is underway following a serious incident involving a Menzies employee at Heathrow Airport earlier this year. As this is ongoing, we cannot provide any further details at this time. Our thoughts are with our colleague and her family.”