Qantas agrees to compensate for screaming child on flight

Bangkok News.Net
Tuesday 20th July, 2010

Australia's national airline carrier Qantas has settled a lawsuit with a U.S. woman who claims she lost her hearing as a result of an incident during a flight last year.

Jean Barnard, 67, a senior partner in an international business consulting company was touring Australia as a tourist last year. She boarded a Qantas flight in Australia's outback in Alice Springs heading for Darwin. Shortly after taking her seat a 3-year old boy opposite her allegedly leaned over and screamed at her. The shriek was so bad blood formed in Ms Barnard' ears and her eardrum allegedly ruptured.

The tourist was planning an extended trip with further visits to Australian cities and towns before setting off for New Zealand. However the incident brought the vacation to an end and Ms Barnard, who said she became deaf over the incident, returned to the U.S.

She then filed a lawsuit against the Australian airline claiming severe and permanent injuries, including "sudden sensio-neural hearing loss," from the child's scream, and physical and mental suffering. She was seeking compensation for her injury, and loss of earnings as she said her capacity to continue working had been impaired.

Ms Barnard's attorney Brian Lawler in his legal arguments claimed Qantas was negligent as the plane's cabin and cockpit crew failed to take all necessary precautions to prevent the "accident" that resulted in her "injury".

Qantas's lawyers argued there was evidence Ms Barnard had a hearing problem before she Left the U.S. and said Qantas could not be held to blame for "the arbitrary and volitional act of a three-year-old child." The child was not screaming at the airport or on the plane until Ms Barnard arrived at her seat, Qantas claimed, adding that its staff could not predict when a child would scream.

The airline produced emails saying Ms Barnard had hearing problems prior to the incident and had used hearing aids. Another email was produced which supported her injury claims and her feelings about the child who caused them. "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," she said in the email.

Legal proceedings in the case, which have been running for almost a year since the incident in January 2009, were adjourned last week while the parties entered into a settlement, the details of which were not disclosed. The parties say they signed confidentiality agreements as part of the settlement which prevents either party from speaking further about the case.

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