A bare failure to warn or advise passengers about health risks such as DVT cannot constitute an 'accident' under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention as amended. However, positive conduct by airlines during flights — such as discouraging passengers from moving, supplying dehydrating beverages, and creating impediments to movement — when combined with allegations of airline knowledge of DVT risks and passenger ignorance of those risks, may be arguable as constituting an 'accident'. An accident for Article 17 purposes need not occur at an identifiable instant but may be constituted by conditions persisting throughout a flight. The question whether an event is unexpected or unusual is to be assessed from the perspective of a disinterested bystander, not by reference to common law negligence concepts.
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