Qantas Airline Sued After Screaming Child Causes Woman To Go Deaf

A passenger on a Qantas flight in Australia was taken off of the flight after she starting bleeding from her ear. The woman stated she lost her hearing, which was caused by a screaming three-year-old child. The woman was treated at a local hospital where it was determined that she was rendered deaf in one ear. She eventually sued the airline, which made an out-of-court settlement with the woman.

The article also stated the following:

The boy allegedly leaned back over his armrest toward Ms Barnard and let out a scream so severe that blood erupted from her ears, leaving her “stone cold deaf”.

No other passengers were injured.

Qantas referred to emails allegedly written by Ms Barnard to a travel companion prior to the Australian trip in which she admitted wearing hearing aids, and submitted a volatile email Ms Barnard allegedly wrote a day after the incident to the US travel agent who booked the trip.

“I guess we are simply fortunate that my eardrum was exploding and I was swallowing blood. Had it not been for that, I would have dragged that kid out of his mother’s arms and stomped him to death. Then we would have an ‘international incident’,” Ms Barnard allegedly wrote.

Also at issue was the fact that the woman who lost her hearing was wearing hearing ads, which the airline believed showed she had previous hearing loss. What is unknown is if the child’s mother was also part of the lawsuit.

What do you think? Should the airline have been held accountable for the screaming child?

Comments welcome.

Source – news.com.au