A nurse who survived a plane crash off Norfolk Island has successfully sued the operator of the flight for psychological injury, in a ruling that could have wide legal ramifications.

Karen Casey took Pel-Air Aviation to the New South Wales Supreme Court over the 2009 crash, which also left her with significant physical injuries.

Six people were on board the plane, including Ms Casey and a doctor, David Helm, when it crashed near Norfolk Island.

The plane had been carrying a seriously ill patient and her husband on a care flight from Samoa to Melbourne when it ditched with low fuel in bad weather.

All six people on board survived the plane crash and spent 90 minutes in a raging sea in the middle of the night with too few life jackets.

Pel-Air accepted that the crash had been caused by the negligence of the plane's pilots and there was no issue with the fact it was liable for the physical injuries of Ms Casey and Dr Helm.

Ms Casey then took her case to the Supreme Court to decide if she could be compensated for the psychological injuries she suffered.

She welcomed today's Supreme Court decision, saying no one should be forced to go through what she has.

Speaking outside the court, Ms Casey said she would like to see justice in aviation laws in Australia and internationally.

"It's been an extremely long, hard road to fight for the rights that we should have," she said.

"I'm very happy with the outcome, but it's certainly not over yet because it's an international [issue] that needs to be recognised.

"No one should have to go through this again, no one.

"I've learned a lot, it's been a fight and a struggle.

"I've almost lost my mind a few times because of it."

International convention limits liability of air carriers

Australia is a signatory to the 1999 Montreal Convention, which allows compensation to international plane crash victims for death or "bodily injury" but effectively bans compensation for psychological trauma.

But today the New South Wales Supreme Court found Ms Casey's post-traumatic stress disorder should be compensated, because it too is a bodily injury.

Ms Casey's long-running fight for compensation was supported by Senator Nick Xenophon, who sought to introduce a private members bill in Federal Parliament to ensure plane crash survivors could be compensated for psychological trauma.

The Casey family previously told the ABC's Four Corners program there was little doubt that surviving a plane crash could ruin a person's life.

Ms Casey's daughter, Jemma Patten, said her mother left for work one day and another person came home.

"She came home and she just was completely different," she said.

"Her face, her mood, her body language just was different.

"It was cold, it just wasn't mum."