Cite as: 516 U. S. 217 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
ent of the decedent at the time of death. 43 F. 3d, at 22. The court concluded that as a matter of law Mahalek had not established that status, and therefore vacated her award; it remanded to the District Court for determination of whether Zicherman was a dependent of Kole. Ibid.
In their petition for certiorari, petitioners contended that under general maritime law dependency is not a requirement for recovering loss-of-society damages. In a cross-petition, KAL contended that the Warsaw Convention does not allow loss-of-society damages in this case, regardless of dependency. We granted certiorari. 514 U. S. 1062 (1995).
II
Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention, as set forth in the official American translation of the governing French text, provides as follows:
"The carrier shall be liable for damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking." 49 Stat. 3018 (emphasis added).
The first and principal question before us is whether loss of society of a relative is made recoverable by this provision.
It is obvious that the English word "damage" or "harm"— or in the official text of the Convention, the French word "dommage" 2—can be applied to an extremely wide range of phenomena, from the medical expenses incurred as a result
2 The French text of Article 17 reads: "Le transporteur est responsable du dommage survenu en cas de mort, de blessure ou de toute autre lésion corporelle subie par un voyageur lorsque l'accident qui a causé le dommage s'est produit à bord de l'aéronef ou au cours de toutes opérations d'embarquement et de débarquement." 49 Stat. 3005.
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