A stewardess whose leg was broken in seven places during severe turbulence has won a six-figure payout after being forced to quit her dream job.
Eden Garrity, 31, was pushing a stroller and serving passengers when the plane entered a tropical hail storm over the Atlantic.
She was thrown to the ground and pinned to the ground in agony when the Thomas Cook flight from Cuba to Manchester was suddenly and violently pushed 500 feet upwards.
After Garrity spent an hour lying on the floor, six passengers helped carry her to a row of seats, which had been cleared. She was taken to hospital upon landing in Manchester, seven hours later.
Mrs Garrity required numerous operations and extensive rehabilitation, and was unable to walk for two months. She has been left with nerve damage, which makes it painful to stand for long periods.
Eden Garrity (pictured, in 2019 before the incident), a flight attendant whose leg was broken in seven places during severe turbulence, won a six-figure payout after being forced to quit her dream job.
Garrity’s leg is pictured after breaking his ankle during turbulence in 2019. Garrity, 31, was pushing a stroller and serving passengers when the plane entered a tropical hail storm over the Atlantic.
The stewardess pictured with a birthday cake after her accident. She was thrown to the ground and pinned to the ground in agony when the Thomas Cook flight from Cuba to Manchester was suddenly and violently pushed 500 feet upwards.
Ms Garrity pictured after breaking her ankle and leg following turbulence on a plane.
Mrs Garrity, from Leigh, near Manchester, said that while she was grateful for the payment, “it doesn’t give me back what I lost”. She added that she felt “bitter” and resentful “because she” will never be able to fly to work again.”
She said: “It was the best job in the world and I feel like I’ve lost a part of my personality.”
“I feel lost, I have a family and a son and it’s fantastic, but I have a lot of limitations on what I can do. I miss making memories, seeing different countries.
“I’m 31 years old and I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I can’t do what I want to do.”
Doctors said the impact of the plane’s floor during the turbulence was “like a sledgehammer” hitting his foot.
Ms Garrity broke her fibula in five places, her tibia once, fractured the side of her foot and fractured her ankle bone.
The flight, in August 2019, had already taken a 100-mile detour to avoid adverse weather conditions before colliding with the storm.
She said she and other crew members had not been warned of the risk of turbulence either during the trip or in the pre-flight briefing.
She said: “Usually if we are going to have any turbulence they will let us know before the flight and let us know what the plans are.” Garrity added that before her injury, she “absolutely loved” her job.
She said: “To suffer injuries so serious that I literally couldn’t come back has been completely heartbreaking.” I suffered from depression and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.’
Ms Garrity filed a compensation claim through Thomas Cook’s insurers as the company went bankrupt in 2020. The insurers denied liability but agreed to pay Ms Garrity an undisclosed six-figure compensation package.
Mrs Garrity, from Leigh, near Manchester, said that while she was grateful for the payment, “it doesn’t give me back what I lost”.
She said: “It was the best job in the world and I feel like I’ve lost a part of my personality.”
Ms Garrity lodged a compensation claim through Thomas Cook’s insurers as the company went bankrupt in 2020.
Ms Garrity broke her fibula in five places, her tibia once, fractured the side of her foot and fractured her ankle bone.
Garrity revealed his ordeal days after a Briton was killed and dozens injured when a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence last Tuesday.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, near Bristol, is reported to have suffered a heart attack when the plane fell 6,000 feet in three minutes.
Another Briton is believed to be among five passengers still in intensive care in hospital.