A former flight steward is suing Singapore Airlines (SIA) for over S$1.7 million in damages after he allegedly slipped on a grease patch while working on a flight.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the incident purportedly happened in September 2019, onboard a 17-hour flight from Singapore to San Francisco.

The flight attendant, Durairaj Santiran, alleged that he slipped and fell backwards about two-and-a-half hours before the flight was due to land in Singapore on Sep. 6, 2019.

Durairaj, who was employed by SIA from April 2016 to April 2021, claimed that he was unable to work as a result of injuries to his spine.

Durairaj's version of events

In the trial that commenced on Feb. 13, 2024, Durairaj's lawyers, Ramasamy Chettiar and Kasturibai Manickam from East Asia Law Corporation, said in their opening statement that SIA had failed to provide a safe work system as the airline did not address the grease patch adequately.

According to Durairaj's version of events, he was patrolling the aircraft after the cleaners had left when he noticed the patch on the floor of the economy class galley near the ovens.

He then informed the Leading Stewardess, Christina Chia, about the issue before the flight took off.

Chia told Durairaj to clean up the patch with disinfectant cleaning spray and a paper hand towel as the aircraft doors had already closed, and recalling the cleaners would cause a delay.

Durairaj then tried to remove the patch but could not do so. He informed Chia, who told him and the rest of the cabin crew to be careful of the patch.

Chia also said she would highlight the issue in a cabin defect log.

After the plane took off and prior to the first meal service, Chia instructed the cabin crew to clean the patch, but the effort failed.

Towards the end of the flight, Durairaj was serving passengers when he slipped on the patch, fell on his back and hit the back of his head on the floor of the aircraft.

He rested for the remainder of the flight and was escorted from the plane in a wheelchair.

He underwent an MRI scan on Sep. 10, 2019, and was diagnosed with a cervical disc prolapse (slipped disc).

SIA: There was no grease patch

SIA's lawyers, Niru Pillai and Liew Teck Huat from Niro and Co LLC pointed out that Durairaj made two previous work injury claims in 2017 and 2018 through the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), which SIA did not contest.

As for the current incident in question, SIA's insurer objected to his WICA claim on the grounds that his injuries appeared to be pre-existing.

The lawyers also referenced a case in 2011 in which an air steward sued SIA because he had allegedly been injured by a bag that fell from the overhead compartment.

SIA had no choice but to "robustly defend" itself as it was a false claim and was eventually proven right when the case was dismissed.

About the current incident, SIA's lawyers argued that there was no grease patch.

They noted that Durairaj was the only person who claimed to have seen the patch and that he alone allegedly slipped and fell on it.

No other crew member or passengers had slipped or fallen on the patch.

They added that if Durairaj slipped and fell, it was not on the grease patch but at a different location, and if he had slipped and fallen on a patch, this incident did not cause the injuries, loss and damages he is claiming.

In addition, Durairaj has also not offered any evidence on what SIA could have done to avoid liability, the lawyers said.

Top image via Wikimedia Commons