The Power of Screams

Stumbled upon this bit of news recently. It's the story of a 67 year old woman who while boarding a plane had the misfortune of a toddler screaming into her ear. Apparently it was a particularly devastating scream because her ear started bleeding and she has claimed permanent hearing loss. What do you do in that situation? You sue the airline of course. Qantas responded in a reasonable manner:

Qantas' legal team countered that its staff could hardly be expected to know a child was going to scream."Plaintiff's injuries, if any, were caused by the arbitrary and volitional act of a three-year-old child. Flight attendants cannot predict when children aboard an aircraft are about to scream. There is no evidence that the child was screaming in the terminal, or on board the aircraft prior to the particular scream which allegedly caused the damage."

Seriously, how could you possibly hold the airline liable for this? Even if the toddler was upset in the airport before the flight could they have reasonably refused boarding? A screaming kid on a plane is every parent's nightmare but this turns the scare factor up even higher. Just imagine the lengths an airline would have to go to protect themselves. A ban on children would almost have to follow. Or some kind of forced sedation.
The litigant here really does seem like a piece of work. Here is part of an email of her's that came to light:

"I guess we are simply fortunate that my eardrum was exploding and I was swallowing blood," she allegedly wrote. "Had it not been for that, I would have dragged that kid out of his mother's arms and stomped him to death."

Man, I hope to never run into this lady.