Queensland mum sues Qantas after horror flight leaves her deaf
A holiday turned into a nightmare for one Queensland mum, who claims she became deaf in one ear after her “hellish” turbulent flight home.
Joanna Spooner and her two children, then aged 11 and nine months, flew back to Brisbane from Hamilton Island on a QantasLink flight in September 2015.
She is now seeking compensation from QantasLink, the regional brand of Qantas.
According to a statement of claims filed in Brisbane’s Supreme Court, the aircraft hit turbulence shortly after take-off which lasted the whole journey.
Joanna, a single stay-at-home mum, said she began to suffer pain in her ears and they felt blocked after the bumpy flight.
However, it was only after the pain worsened in the months following the flight that she was diagnosed with barotrauma and perilymph fistula in her right ear. She had to undergo emergency surgery and lost hearing in that ear.
“At least half of my hearing has gone,” Joanna told news.com.au.
"I've got all the vertigo, the pain; it's in my ear but behind my ear, in my face, down my jaw and down my neck. It builds up because the hole has closed up and it builds up in my face which feels like a million different things. It's hell."
Joanna’s son and daughter also suffered barotrauma at the time of the flight but have since recovered from their injuries, according to court documents.
Her daughter suffered earaches and balance problems for four to five weeks after the flight, but her baby son was unwell for longer, Joanna said.
“We had 18 weeks of constantly taking him back to GPs and the hospital... we didn’t get anywhere,” she said. “That was when I was finally diagnosed (with perilymph fistula) and I was like, I know something is wrong with him.”
Joanna’s son was found to have a ruptured ear drum.
“I had to sit on him and pin him to the table because they couldn’t sedate him because of his age,” she said.
“They didn’t realise it was that bad. With his ruptured ear drum the fluid had leaked out but it stayed in his ear and it had set and got really hard, on his newly formed ear drum.”
Joanna says she can no longer work from home and needs assistance taking care of her kids.
A Qantas spokesperson has responded to the claims, telling news.com.au: “We’re aware of the alleged incident but we are yet to be served with any proceedings so we’re not in a position to comment.”
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