A woman is suing Air Canada (TSX:AC) and two other, unnamed defendants for injuries she claimed she received after luggage fell from overhead bins on a flight.
In a Jan. 28 B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim, Banyard said she was flying from Vancouver to Montreal on her way to Munich, Germany, when two other passengers lost control of luggage they were putting in the bins. Banyard said the falling luggage hit her head and shoulders.
She said a flight attendant checked on her but she felt well enough to continue with the flight.
However, Banyard said, half an hour into the flight, she began to feel pressure in her head, and numbness in the top and sides of her head. She said those sensations soon extended into her cheek, that her eyesight became blurry and she felt nauseous.
Soon, she began reporting to the crew she was not feeling well.
Banyard said flight attendants gave her the option of calling a paramedic to her for an assessment when the plane landed.
One of the flight attendants checked Banyard’s blood pressure and heart rate, and filed out some paperwork.
“The flight attendant advised the Plaintiff that she was ‘grounded’ and would need to be cleared as safe to fly by a medical professional before it would be allowable for her to continue on the next leg of her trip,” the claim said.
In Montreal, she was assessed by a paramedic and went to hospital.
The claim asserts Air Canada was negligent in failing to ensure overhead bins were used properly and with bags not overweight.
She also asserted the airline facilitates larger baggage being brought into the cabin by charging excessive baggage fees, thus increasing the risk of accidents.
Banyard is claiming, that, as a result of the incident, she suffered injuries to the head, neck and shoulders; headaches; a concussion; and post-concussion syndrome.
She is claiming damages for pain and suffering, loss of past and future earning capacity, loss of housekeeping capacity, costs of future care and special damages.
Air Canada declined to comment on the claim, saying, “we will make our comments through the court process.”
