Maxwell Winchester still faces a long journey towards a full recovery after what he describes as a nightmare American Airlines flight home left him with a severe brain injury.
Dr Winchester, a senior marketing lecturer for Victoria University, was returning from a work trip in Guadalajara, Mexico, in February when his flight to Arizona in the US hit a thunderstorm.
The Woodend man is suing American Airlines, claiming it failed to provide medical assistance after the turbulent flight.
He said the turbulence was so “violent” it caused him to lose consciousness twice and suffer an injury to his brain.
“I’ve always travelled a lot through my work,” Dr Winchester said.
“I’ve been through turbulence before but I’ve never experienced anything like what happened on that flight.
“It was like an elevator suddenly dropping a floor, then going up with the same force and then dropping again.”
Dr Winchester said that after the flight, he told cabin crew he was not feeling well and at first declined medical help, but then he had trouble balancing as he left the aircraft.
He said that’s when staff should have insisted on calling paramedics.
It was about four months later, when he realised that pain in his head and feelings of vertigo were not improving, that doctors diagnosed him with “axonal tearing”. The 44-year-old academic said he could not drive long distances or cycle for three months and could only work part-time.
According to a writ filed in the Victorian Supreme Court last month, Dr Winchester claims to be suffering from neck, head and back injuries, whiplash, concussion, severe headaches, post-concussive syndrome, tinnitus, vision problems and mental health issues.
“I’ve lost nearly a year of my life,” he said. “I’ve had to have speech therapy because I had slurred speech. I’ve had six months of intense rehabilitation for balance issues.”
Dr Winchester’s legal counsel, Shine Lawyers aviation expert Thomas Janson, said repeated attempts to contact American Airlines and their insurance company led nowhere, prompting the legal action. American Airlines did not reply to Star Weekly’s inquiry.
