A flight attendant who broke her leg in seven places during severe turbulence has won a six-figure payout.
Eden Garrity, 31, was pushing a trolley as the Thomas Cook flight from Cuba to Manchester entered a violent Atlantic hail storm. The impact of the turbulence thrust the flight 500ft upward, pinning her to the ground and snapping her ankle.
Ms Garrity was unable to walk for two months after the incident and underwent numerous operations and intense rehabilitation. She has been left with nerve damage, which makes it painful for her to stand up for long periods, meaning she can never return to work as cabin crew.
While the payout has helped her financially, she says it doesn’t make up for the fact that she’ll never do her dream job again. She said: “It has left me bitter, I’m resentful for it. It’s just frustrating. It was the best job in the world and I feel like I’ve lost a piece of my personality.
“You see people you’re friends with and they’re travelling in the skies and I’m not, I’m forever grounded. I’ll never be able to fly for work again.
“I appreciate the payout but it doesn’t bring back what I’ve lost. It helps in terms off getting my own property, but I’m 31 and I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I can’t do what I want to do… I suffered from depression and was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety.”