Plane passenger suffers ‘permanent hearing loss’ following cabin pressure issue
An airline has been slapped with a lawsuit after a woman claimed she was left with “permanent hearing loss” due to a cabin pressurization issue on the plane.
Citing a court record it obtained, The Independent reported that the September 2024 incident on Delta Flight 1203 from Salt Lake City to Portland, Oregon ruptured the eardrum of Jaci Purser from Utah, leaving her with “sustained permanent hearing loss” and the need to undergo “substantial treatment which will continue in[to] the future.”
Per the document, at least 10 other passengers were also brought to the hospital due to what happened.
The complaint was submitted to the Utah federal court earlier this week, according to the media outlet.
It pointed out Delta’s negligence for “fail[ing] to provide proper maintenance of the subject aircraft on which [she] was a passenger and allowing their passengers to enter and remain on board an aircraft with a dangerous condition long enough for… Purser to sustain bodily injury and permanent hearing loss.”
“The negligent acts and/or omission of [Delta] was the proximate cause of [Purser’s] injuries and emotional distress,” it added.
The Independent reported that Purser is "now seeking damages for medical expenses and lost wages, plus special, general and compensatory damages for pain and suffering, as well as loss of enjoyment of life, in an amount to be determined by a jury."
The lawsuit stated that the cabin pressurization system of Delta 737-900 malfunctioned just a few moments after takeoff on Sept. 15, 2024.
Purser claimed it felt like there was someone “stabbing her in the ear” when she “experienced extraordinary decompression for some 10 to 15 minutes.”
“I grabbed my ear, and I pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it,” she’s quoted as saying.
Local NBC affiliate KSL-TV reported at the time that another passenger named Caryn Allen recalled seeing saw someone near her with a “very bad bloody nose.”
Jaclyn Blain, another passenger, likewise told the media outlet that “there was a baby in first class, poor little thing was just screaming his poor head off.”
In a statement released a few days later, Delta said the plane was not able to pressurize above 10,000 feet.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at Salt Lake City International Airport following the incident, and customers “were accommodated on another aircraft.”
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay of their travels. The safety of our customers and people remains Delta’s most important priority,” it added.
