Is it possible to get compensation if the animal was injured on the plane

Similar stories periodically appear in the news: on an airplane dead cats, then the loaders while moving the luggage to the plane lost a dog. Such messages, for obvious reasons, scare pet owners who travel. Whether to take a pet with you and whether to fly by plane is everyone's personal choice. We will talk about what to do if troubles have already happened.

What is the difficulty with compensation if the animal was injured or died on the plane

Compensation is a loose concept. Usually the owner does not want money, but that the perpetrators get what they deserve. For example, they were punished with the ruble and suffered reputational losses. If we talk about such compensation, unfortunately, the news is disappointing. The airline may pay some amount. But to feel moral satisfaction and relief is unlikely to succeed.

For the owner, a pet can be a light in the window, a joy of life, a family member, a sweetie and a bead. But the rest of the parties involved in the proceedings have a rather utilitarian attitude towards cats and dogs.

So, for an airline, an animal is baggage that needs to be transported in accordance with special requirements. And what is a tragedy for the owner, for the carrier is the loss or damage to luggage. And compensation he pays based on this approach. Namely, in the amount of not more than 600 rubles per kilogram of weight. For international flights rules a little different: there, to calculate the damage, an artificial means of payment is used, the value of which varies. But the amount will still be small.

The amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damage is usually also not amazing. Legally, an animal counts property with a special legal status. That is, they cannot be treated cruelly, because this is contrary to the principles of humanity. But otherwise, the attitude to pets will often be the same as to a smartphone or a sofa.

For example, a resident of Anadyr let her friends live in her apartment. They were supposed to watch her dogs. As a result, the guests stole a variety of property. One of the pets has also disappeared. The woman wanted to receive compensation for non-pecuniary damage, since "the death of the dog became a great grief and irreparable loss for her." However, the court replied that compensation for damage to property, including animals, was not provided for by law.

Although the Supreme Court here takes the side of the owners and recognizesthat "under certain circumstances, the death of animals can cause their owner not only property damage, but also moral suffering." However, if a person is compensated for moral harm, then it is about several thousand rubles.

All this may seem unfair. After all, the pet suffered because of the carrier, there is inhumane treatment of the animal. But in practice, it is difficult to prove that the airline is to blame. Was the cat injured because the movers didn't secure the carrier, or did he thrash about in his cage in terror? Did the dog die due to the low temperature in the luggage compartment or due to health problems that were there in the beginning? The owner himself will have to prove his case and collect evidence.

What to do before flying if you are bringing a pet

Please note: these tips only apply to compensation-related issues. For more general advice on how to make travel more comfortable for you and your animal, see separate article.

• Take your pet to the veterinarian and get a health certificate. This will help to prove that the pet had no contraindications and should have endured the flight well.
• Train your pet to be carried. Otherwise, there is a risk that it will become nervous and cause damage to itself. At the same time, if you use a sedative for the flight, choose what the veterinarian recommended.
• Assign a check-in value to your pet. You will have to pay extra for this. But in this case, when calculating compensation, the declared value will be taken into account, and not the default numbers that we talked about above.
• Checkout insurance. If the animal dies, it is unlikely that the insurance payment will console you. But if he needs treatment, you will have money for it.
• Take pictures of the pet and the carrier before checking in so you have proof that the pet was alive, well and doing well.

How to claim compensation

To do this, you need to send a claim to the airline. You have to go this way:

• If you received a carrier and found that the pet was injured, take a picture of everything in detail. If the cage is damaged, the animal has injuries - fix it.
• Write a claim at the baggage loss desk. Describe what happened in detail.
• Go to the veterinarian to get a conclusion about the health of your pet. If he died, you will need a document with the cause of death.
• If the animal is being treated, collect receipts for doctor visits, medications, and so on.
• Submit your claim to the airline via regular mail or email. Contact information can usually be found on the website. In the document, indicate which flight you flew on, how the animal felt before checking it in, what happened to it later. Prove everything with photographs, documents, and so on.

Claims can be submitted within six months. The standard paper review period is 30 days.

If there was no answer or he did not satisfy, then you can go to court.